Our Dawn Series Specials
by Karisan-karisan
Summary: Special episodes of Our Dawn Series. When Jacob asks Leah to be his beta something changes. Though both want to deny there are feelings between them, they're not able to stop thinking about each other. To admit such feelings is as good as committing suicide and for Jacob and Leah that's not an option. Jacob POV / Leah POV (some chapters are rated M)
1. Ep 1 - Will you be my beta?

Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer not me.

Author/Note 1: This one-shot follows what happens in chapters 18, 19 and 20 of _Our Dawn 1_. For the ones who don't remember what happened in these two chapters of the first part of the Our Dawn Series, Bella and Edward are ready to get married right after she was turned into a vampire. Jacob is trying hard to let go of Bella's memories and he notices Leah for the first time.

A/Note 2: I'm not a native English speaker so I'm sorry for my grammar and spelling. Thank you for reading.

_**Our Dawn Series**__** Specials**_

_**Episode One – Will you be my Beta?**_

_**Jacob Black**_

I slowly got up from my bed and went to the bathroom, kicking and tripping on my clothes and shoes scattered all over the floor. I had a quick shower and started to get myself presentable for the big day.

I had left the Cullen's house less than an hour ago. The mind rapist had invited us for his bachelor party and we couldn't refuse. Well I wanted to but that was what Edward wanted me to do so I decided to do the exact opposite just to piss him off. The night ended up being unexpectedly fun but that was just because we had all the food and drinks we wanted for free.

Since I arrived home I had locked myself in my bedroom thinking about what was about to happen. Bella was getting married to _him_. I had tried to ignore the subject because I wanted to forget I had once loved that girl. It was hard for me but I wanted to accept that Bella was no longer my best friend, she wasn't even human anymore and she was about to have her happy ending. I should feel happy for her and move on.

But things weren't that easy. Feelings didn't disappear overnight and five days weren't enough to take Bella out of my mind or my heart. Maybe I would be able to forget in five years but never in five days.

I still loved her in a weird kind of way. We could no longer be together since she was now my mortal enemy but I could still see the old Bella and that was killing me inside. I could've let Bella die when Irina attacked us but I chose to let Edward turn her. She was going to marry him because I had allowed the mind rapist to save her or condemn her, it depends on the point of view.

The pain hit me full force again and I almost wished to be crushed by a newborn vampire again. At least that way my body would hurt but not my heart. I had ran away once because I didn't want to see her getting married to Edward Cullen but this time I couldn't run anymore. This was it and it was final. I had to get my own closure. Bella would never be mine.

Dressing up carefully not to ruin the expensive suit that Alice had bought me, I tried to keep my thoughts away from Bella and her new life with the mind rapist. I just had to think that they were my enemies and everything would be fine, right?

Wrong. I had promised Bella to be with her as long as she needed me. I had made clear to everyone in the pack that I would not tolerate a hostile position against the Cullens just because I still loved her. I was an idiot.

I knew I was being stupid but the memories, _our memories_, were still alive in my head and five days weren't enough to let it go.

After getting dressed I made my way over to my dad's bedroom but he didn't need any help. Rachel had helped him before leaving to the Clearwater's house. I was about to have a glass of milk when I felt that someone was coming. Unfortunately he was one of the people I hated the most today.

Out of politeness, something that he had acquired just a few days ago, Paul knocked on the door.

"She's not here." I yelled at him without moving.

"Can you at least open the door?" He asked.

"No."

"Jacob…please don't make a scene." My father said wheeling himself towards the door.

"I'm not doing anything." I made an innocent face.

"Where is she?" Paul asked as soon as dad opened the door.

"Mind your own businesses, Paul." I stated.

"Come on, Jake…She's my imprint. We're meant to be together besides it's not like I asked to imprint on your sister."

"Then fight against it." I suggested.

"I can't."

I rolled my eyes and kept making my sandwich.

"My sister had a brilliant future ahead…now she's stuck with you."

Rachel was just like Bella now. Stuck with a dumbass forever. The only difference was that Paul wasn't dead…yet. I hadn't killed him so far because Rachel had shown interest in the douche and I didn't want to cause her any pain but if he tried anything funny with her, he was going to get his ass kicked.

"I think I'm falling in love with her." Paul said. "You believe me, don't you Mr. Black?"

"Yeah…I guess so. Rachel told me she likes you too." My dad confessed. He was happy because this way Rachel would stay in La Push with us.

I would never forget my sister's words when she admitted that she was starting to have feelings for Paul Lahote a few days ago. We ended up arguing and she even hit me stating that I wasn't her father and couldn't boss her around. I sure wasn't her father but I would never let my sister in the hands of some perverted douche like Paul without putting up a fight. She deserved better than that.

"She said that? When?" Paul asked with a large smirk on his stupid face.

"A couple of days ago but don't get your hopes too high son…she didn't say the L word."

I sighed sadly. Rachel didn't say she loved Paul but the way she spoke of him, I knew she would say it soon.

I should've done something very wrong in my previous life to deserve such a shitty fate.

"So…Where's Rachel then?"

"At Sue's." My dad answered.

"Where do you think you're going asshole?" I asked when Paul was about to leave.

"To pick her up?" He raised an eyebrow.

"I don't think so."

"You can't stop me!" Paul fumed. "I know you're the alpha now but I'm just going to pick her up and take her to the Cullens I'm not going to run away with her and…"

"We got the point Paul." My father warned.

"You're wrong about something though…" I grinned. "I can stop you if I want to. I'm not the alpha just for fun."

"I know…You're the alpha because you want to protect the treaty we have with the Cullens and want to stay close to your ex-girlfriend."

"Shut up!" I warned him.

"Don't provoke my son, Paul. Jake's not in the mood today."

"Why not? Oh…wait I remember now…because his girlfriend is getting married to another."

"That's it!" I stepped forward but my father put himself between Paul and I preventing me from kicking him senseless.

"So…are you going to alpha command me or can I go see my imprint?"

My dad handed Paul the keys to my car and Paul looked at him confused.

"Take the Rabbit out of the garage please." He asked. "You're coming with us to pick up Rachel."

Oh great! Now I was going to have to endure Paul all the way to the Clearwater's and during the damn wedding. I did have a backup plan though and that was the reason why I had sent Rachel over to Sue's place.

When I arrived home that morning, a bit wasted, Seth called to tell me Leah wanted to skip the wedding and stay at home. I really didn't give a flying shit about that but then I remembered that Rachel used to be Leah's friend and Leah hated Paul probably even more than I did. So I just had to make sure my sister and Leah would tag along during the ceremony. That would keep Paul at a safe distance and I could relax for a while.

"Why is Rachel at Sue's?" Paul asked.

"She's dressing up for the wedding with Leah." My father explained. "Women stuff."

"Dressing up with the harpy? That's a surprise." He laughed.

I hoped Rachel had managed to convince Leah to go. I had specifically told her that her mission was to convince Leah Clearwater to go to Bella's wedding.

"Leah should just stay at home. She's not into weddings…I mean with Sam and Emily's coming up soon I'm sure she'll be a super-bitch today." Paul commented.

Paul was right. Leah wasn't the easiest person to be around nowadays. She was still hurting a lot because Sam had dumped her but I needed her to go to this particular wedding. My mental sanity depended on it.

I parked the Rabbit near Sue's house and my dad stayed in the car. I knocked and Seth came to meet us. Embry and Quil were at his place as well. Then we heard Leah's voice upstairs. She was not in a good mood.

"_What part of I don't want to go, did you not understand Rach?"_ She asked.

"_Come on Leah. We're already dressed might as well go there and have some fun." _My sister tried.

"_I'm not in the mood for happy endings."_

I knew exactly what she was referring to and I could relate. I wasn't happy to see the girl of my dreams getting married to Edward Cullen just like she wasn't happy to know that Sam would marry Emily soon.

"_Give me a good reason to stay at home." _Rachel demanded and Leah kept quiet. She hadn't told Rachel why Sam had dumped her and I guess she didn't want to tell her that the only reason she didn't want to go was because she would start thinking about Sam and Emily's wedding next year.

Now I knew why Rachel and Leah had always been friends. They were stubborn, bitchy, and bossy. God helped Paul and the idiot who would fall in love with Leah Clearwater. The bastard would have to be either a masochist or really unlucky.

My thoughts were shaken by the image of a young woman coming down the stairs. She looked quite familiar but I didn't recognise her immediately. Leah was practically unrecognisable. She was wearing a dark red dress with no sleeves. The corset of the dress gave us a really good view to her round and perfect breasts. The rest of the dress hugged her body perfectly, showing off the curves of her well defined waist. Her hair was up and she wasn't wearing any make-up which she didn't need anyways. The word "beautiful" wasn't enough to describe Leah in that dress and all I could think of was that Sam was a stupid asshole for choosing Emily over her.

"I'm still waiting Leah." Rachel said coming down the stairs too. "If you don't give me a good reason I'm going to drag you there, do you hear me? I'm not going to leave you here drowning in your self-pity. You need to show him you've moved on."

"Fine." Leah yelled back going to the kitchen and putting her shoes on. "Let's get over with this shit."

"Great. Let's go then." Rachel smiled and winked at me. Mission accomplished.

"What the hell are you looking at?" Leah groaned.

I was still staring at her but I noticed she wasn't speaking to me, she was addressing Embry who was now blushing so hard he was the same colour as her dress.

"Stupid teenagers." Leah spat and went to Sue's car.

When she passed me by I couldn't help to glance at her body again. Truth to be told Leah had become quite hot after turning into a wolf. I had seen her naked many times before, just for fun or to piss her off, but today was different. She was breathtaking beautiful and my mind started to play tricks with me because for a split second I imagined how it would feel like to take off her clothes and touch her golden skin.

"Hey moron!" Paul's voice brought me back to reality. "We're leaving."

"What?" I asked stupidly.

"Are you coming or what?"

Everyone was already by the cars and I was still planted like a damn idiot at Sue's front door. I looked at Leah and decided that my last thoughts were way out of order. I was probably just fantasizing because I was too upset about losing Bella.

The wedding's reception was a torture. Bella was gorgeous but now her beauty seemed somehow fake. She was too pale and for a second there all I saw was a vampire and not my old friend. Renée flinched when she saw us coming and hid behind Charlie. I guess she was still not used to be around mythical creatures. I made sure to be around Paul so he wouldn't go and harass my sister who was with Leah now.

Seth spun Bella around like if she was just the same old and human Bella and I saw Leah disgusted look watching her brother acting so normally around the leeches. Then Esme arrived armed with the camera and began to take pictures. I had to fake a smile too many times until she was satisfied and then Blondie called everyone to take their places.

Charlie stayed with Bella for some father and daughter time.

I waited until everyone was sitting down and when I realised that Embry and Quil were flanking Paul, I went to the third row and sat down next to Leah.

I didn't have the intention of sitting next to her but for some reason I did. I guess I needed to be around someone who also felt cheated. Whenever I was tired to look at the happy couple I could look at Leah's breasts.

"Next time I'm going to charge you." She said aggressively.

"What?" I asked surprised.

"I'm not your sister's babysitter." She stated in a low voice so Rachel wouldn't hear us.

I didn't reply. I would probably get hurt if I did.

"What? Did you think I wouldn't know your little plan?" She smirked.

"I had to do something. She's…having feelings for him…"

"One day it will be you. Get used to it." She said with a hint of pain in her voice while her eyes caught up Sam and Emily on the row behind us.

"At least I'm not an asshole."

"Of course you are…You all are. You see a girl…a stranger and your world just stops. How lame is that?"

"It's not my fault Sam couldn't fight it off."

"And you think you can?"

"I don't know…maybe...if I have a motive."

"You should just accept it. Now that your precious leech lover is a leech herself and is going to marry her also dead lover, you should just consider the idea that you'd be better off with your imprint."

"And if I don't find my soul mate?"

"You will. You're the alpha now."

"That doesn't mean a thing."

"You'll find her."

"I don't want to be forced to love someone I don't know. I want to make my own destiny."

"I wanted to get married and have a couple of kids and look at me."

"You can still…"

"Shut up." She cut me off. "Don't dare to give me that bullshit!"

"Shhhh!" Rachel scolded us. "Bella and Charlie are coming."

I forced myself to stay put while Bella was declared Edward's wife. I wanted nothing more but to leave and never come back but I had a promise to keep. Besides I had been the one to give permission to the mind rapist to turn her, I knew this would happen eventually and maybe this was for the best. Better now than later, right?

Maybe now I could start looking for someone who could love me and only me. Someone who could give her heart to me and ask nothing in return. My soul mate perhaps?

I looked over to my right side when Bella and Edward were kissing and I saw Leah diverting her eyes too.

I hoped this girl, the one who would fall for me in the future, could be as beautiful as Leah. I narrowed my eyes at that thought. Why had I thought about Leah? I probably needed some sleep.

After the wedding came the food. I wasn't particularly hungry but it wasn't in my nature to refuse a free meal. When we were done eating the music started and I watched as Bella danced with her father first and then with Carlisle.

I didn't dance as well as the leeches but I did want to have a dance with the bride. I wanted to talk to her and know how she was feeling. My opportunity came when Carlisle returned to his wife. I approached Bella and she raised her hand to me.

"Thanks for coming." She said.

"I guess I couldn't say no. It's not every day we have free food and drinks." I grimaced.

I wanted to ask her a lot of things but the words never came out.

"How are you dealing with the alpha's business?" She asked.

"Fine. Sam's helping me."

"Irina's still at large."

"She'll never be able to come near La Push again. I'm much stronger now."

"Well I'm just asking you to stay out of troubles while we're gone, okay?"

"No offense but I'm hardly the trouble's magnet, Bella."

"Very funny…" She laughed slightly.

I noticed that Bella was hiding the red colour of her eyes with contact lenses. It was in that precise moment I realised that even though she was my friend and she still had human feelings in her, she was no longer _my_ Bella. She was someone different now.

She was no longer vulnerable or weak; she was a powerful vampire now. Nothing would be the same again and I would have to get over it. So when the music stopped I took Bella over to her husband and left to join Quil, Jared and Embry.

I managed to engage in a few conversations about games and food until my eyes met Paul and Rachel dancing. I had just lost the love of my life to a damn leech, I didn't want to lose my sister too.

I made my way to the dance floor and pulled Rachel away from Paul, who growled deeply. The fact that she was his imprint didn't give him he right to grope her like that.

"What the hell Jake?" Paul reacted immediately.

"You can't touch my sister without my permission." I shot.

"Protective much?" Paul teased. He sure had some death wish.

"Shut up!"

"You're not my father Jake. Let me go." Rachel ordered. "Who the hell do you think you are? Just because you're a few inches taller than before it doesn't make you the…"

"Shut it Rach…before I take you home." I cut her off. She was so annoying sometimes. Couldn't she understand I was doing that for her own sake?

Rachel was completely furious with my attitude by then. She even tried to kick me but failed. I wasn't her baby brother anymore.

"It's my life Jake so leave me alone." She spat when I released her arm.

"He's sixteen, do you know that?" I inquired. I had to play that card while I could.

"Seventeen." Paul corrected.

"Whatever." I dismissed him.

"Go to Hell Jake." Rachel left and joined Sue and my father at their table with a very angry look on her face. She didn't intimidate me with her glares though. She was no Leah Clearwater.

"We both know we are destined to be together and you have to accept that." Paul stated smugly leaving me. I wished I could rip his head off.

I headed over to my sister again and she started to accuse me of wanting to rule her life. If she knew that she would never be able to have her beautiful life outside the Reservation like she had dreamed after Paul had imprinted on her she would probably beg me to kill him but I couldn't tell her that. Not today anyways.

"I'm leaving." She stated stubbornly.

"No way. I'm not going to let you go out of my sight." I replied.

"Well though!"

"I'm going too." Leah announced.

"No." I said.

Leah glared daggers at me and I flinched a little.

"I'm going to keep Rachel a company." She hissed.

"No, you're not." I repeated.

God what was I doing? Why was I preventing Leah from going home with my sister? That would certainly keep Paul away from my house for a while but for some reason I wanted Leah to stay.

"I'll go." Kim offered. Jared was right behind his girlfriend and promised he would control Paul in case he followed them.

"Okay…fine." I accepted.

Leah gave me a murderous look and sat down again. Her eyes caught a glimpse of Sam and Emily dancing and she crossed her arms over her chest in a defensive but oh so sexy way.

As soon as Kim and Rachel left I asked Quil and Embry to stay near Paul and joined Emmett. I knew he wanted to bet about something and I almost chocked when he told me what he had in mind.

"So…Leah or Rosalie?" Emmett said with a smile.

So he wanted to bet on who was the most hostile girl in town. Leah and Rosalie were, of course, the queens of that department.

"Leah. Definitely." I stated.

"Okay…I bet a hundred dollars on my Rose."

"A hundred?" I didn't have all that money.

"Don't you have faith in your…wolverine?" Emmett laughed.

"Of course I do. You're on."

"Okay…then let's prove it, shall we?"

"How?"

"I bet I can kiss the she-wolf before you can convince my Rose to dance."

"Kiss Leah? You have to be joking…you won't even manage to approach her much less kiss her."

"You don't know that. She might have the hots for me."

I laughed. Leah hated all the leeches. No exception. Well maybe she liked Carlisle just a little because he had saved her brother, but that was it.

I thought about Emmett's suggestion. I didn't like the idea of seeing him kiss Leah and I really didn't feel like dancing with the Ice Queen but for a hundred dollars maybe I should give it a try.

Glancing over at Leah one last time before heading over to ask Rosalie for a dance I saw her shooing Embry for the third time rejecting his invitation to dance and I was almost sure she would never let Emmett Cullen kiss her.

Since Emmett hadn't said anything about rules I told Rosalie about the bet and watched her fume in anger.

"Are you going to let Emmett kiss a wolf?" I asked smugly. "He'll stink for at least a month."

"Fine, you won dog." She said and pulled my hand. "Let's dance."

Dancing with Rosalie Hale was a nightmare. That was something I really didn't want to do ever again. She smelled too damn sweet and I was getting sick in my stomach. Thank the Spirits Emmett noticed us and came to speak to me.

"Hands off mutt." He said.

"She's not complaining…" I grinned.

"Are you aware of what you're doing honey?" Emmett asked his wife.

"Yes."

"You're dancing with a mutt." He pointed put.

"You were going to kiss one…I guess we're even." She retorted releasing me.

"You told her?" Emmett asked.

"You never said I couldn't tell her."

"I can't believe this…" Emmett complained.

"You owe me a hundred dollars." I smirked.

"Hey, Jasper…you didn't use your power on Rose to make him win the bet, did you?" The idiot asked his brother.

"Of course not. What fun would that be?" Jasper questioned with an innocent face.

"I almost had the she-wolf around my finger." Emmett complained again.

"You wish." I said. "You don't know Leah like I do. She's not like the others. There's no way you would've kissed her tonight."

"Why not? Don't tell me you're jealous..."

"What? Jealous? Come on! Why would I be jealous…she's just…she's…Leah for crying out loud!"

Okay so that one caught me off guard.

"Jealous? Are you insane? She's...Leah for crying out loud!"

"I think she's hot…" He confessed.

Rosalie hit Emmett on the back of his head and I glanced at Leah again. She was still sitting down, arms crossed and a huge frown. When she noticed I was looking at her she gave me the finger and turned her head the other way. Maybe I should've let her go with Kim and Rachel.

"I'm going to drink another beer…" I announced leaving Emmett and Rosalie arguing in the dance floor.

I ended up drinking at least five more beers and that's why I probably didn't even notice when Bella and Edward left to the airport. So what if they were going on their honeymoon? So what if Bella was going to give herself to that ice cube guy? She was one herself so who cared, right?

I grabbed a bottle of wine and as the moon slowly showed up in the sky I decided to leave the party and headed to First Beach. I needed some time alone. I had too many things in my head and I needed to let go. It wasn't just Bella and her honeymoon, it was also Paul and Rachel, my recently position as alpha and the stupid thoughts about Leah Clearwater.

Emmett was such a jerk. He had planted doubts in my head. I mean why would I be jealous if he really kissed Leah? It was just and bet. Plus she was single and I didn't even like her that much, right? She was bitter, cruel, sarcastic and evil to all of us. No exception. And I knew for a fact that I wasn't her favourite person on the planet either.

Why was I still thinking about her? I should be crying about losing Bella.

I drank a bit of more of wine and lay down on the sand. For a while all I listened to was the sound of the waves. It was relaxing. I closed my eyes and I would've probably fallen asleep if I didn't hear someone walking in my direction.

"What are you doing here?" Leah asked as if she owned the beach.

"Nothing. You?"

"The same." She sat down beside me and took the bottle of wine from my hands. "I prefer whisky."

I sat up and looked at her.

"What?" She asked. "Why are you always looking at me today?"

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are…I'm not going to break down crying. It's not as if this is the worst day of my life…I can't say the same about you though."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're hurting because of her. And the only reason you made me go to the leeches' wedding was because you needed to see someone as broken as you. You used me."

"That's not…true..."

"It's fine...I know you didn't do it on purpose."

I didn't say anything because I didn't have the courage to tell her that the reason why I wanted her close was because looking at her body made me forget Bella temporarily. At least that was my theory. But she also had a point.

"How do you do it?" I asked after a long time in silence.

"You know how. You're constantly in my head…you know how I deal with it."

"Becoming a harpy…That's not very healthy, you know? You should try another way."

"Yeah…Whatever. It doesn't matter anyway."

"Does this pain go away?"

"I don't know. I don't think mine will."

"Do you think…we'll ever fall in love again?"

"You probably will."

"I'm not talking about imprinting."

"Me neither. It's just that you're a good kid Black. You'll eventually forget about Bella, forgive her and the mind rapist and move on. You'll meet a nice girl and you'll be happy."

"What about you?"

She just shrugged.

"I'm not a good person." Her voice was firm which meant she wasn't joking.

What should I say now? Should I comfort her and try to make her feel better? She would know I'd be feeling sorry for her and she'd be pissed off with me.

"Seth and Sue surely disagree with that." I offered.

"They don't know the real me…Do you know what my Dad told me before Sam left me for Emily? He told me he was proud of me and that he couldn't wait to see me getting married and having kids. He said I was his princess…and do you know what happened then?"

I knew what she had been through but I let her talk. This was actually the first time she was talking about her feelings.

"The next week Sam dumped me and then I turned into a fucking giant dog, I probably lost my chance to be happy and to have children and I caused my dad's heart attack. I'm responsible for my mother and my brother's pain…for Emily's, for Sam's and even the whole pack. I got you all suffering with me because I'm a selfish bitch. I worth nothing. No one will ever look at me or want me for that matter. I feel invisible and lonely…You should've let that newborn vampire kill me, Black. I deserved it. I'm not like you. I'm a bad person!"

"Hey…come on…"

"Can't you see? I want to die! Why can't I just die? No one would miss me!" She got up and drank the rest of the wine. Then out of the blue she started to take off her dress.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked getting up and turning my back to her.

"I'm going to try something."

"Put your dress back on." I begged.

"Tonight is a good night to die."

I was pretty sure that was the alcohol talking. I could smell it and I knew Leah had been drinking before she had joined me on the beach. I just never thought she was actually serious so I only reacted when I heard a splash on the water.

"What the hell are you doing, Clearwater?" I yelled watching her naked form diving.

I scanned the sand and saw all of her clothes there even her underwear. She was really drunk to do something like that and I was really stupid to think that I'd be able to pull her out of the water without getting my ass kicked.

"Leah! Come back!" I yelled again but she was gone under the water. "Shit!"

I took my tie, my shoes and my white shirt off and dived after her. Thank the Spirits I was a strong wolf and could see perfectly underwater. I found her and pulled her up with me but as soon as we hit the surface she started to fight me off.

"Let me go! I want to die! Don't touch me!" She screamed.

"Shut up! You're way out of line! Be quiet!"

I practically dragged her with me and when we reached the sand she kept on squirming and I felt a sharp pain when her knee made contact with my groin.

"Fuck! Are you crazy?" I let her go and regretted it immediately because she went to the water again.

I grabbed her wrist and pulled her down and into the sand. I couldn't let her go to the water again and I had to find a way to immobilise her. I lay down on top of her and noticed she had started crying.

"Don't cry, please." I asked softly. I did think she was a harpy but I had no pleasure watching her pain.

"Why can't I just disappear? I'm worthless. Everyone would be better off without me."

"Leah…You're not worthless, you're a protector. You have a mission…Just don't give up."

"No one needs me."

"That's not true. I need you." I lied.

"What for?"

"I need you to be my second in command." I blurted out the first thing that came to my mind. "Will you be my beta?"

She looked directly into my eyes and a small smile appeared in her pink lips.

"Really? What about Sam?" She asked.

"Never mind Sam. I'm asking you."

"You want me to be your beta?" She repeated.

"Yes. I think you're perfect for the job. That way you can show the guys your leading qualities."

"I have qualities?"

I nodded and it was then I became aware of how close we really were. I was lying on top of her, my hands were holding both of her wrists on each side of her head and my legs were straddling her so she couldn't move.

Our noses were almost touching and I couldn't help to think about how good it was to feel her naked body pressed up against mine. Suddenly I felt really hot and I looked at her eyes. I could kiss her to see how she tasted like, I could even try to feel her body. I would blame it on the alcohol and my hormones later but then again that wouldn't be such a smart move.

I didn't want to take advantage on her. She was drunk and I had just lost the girl of my dreams. I wanted my first time to be with someone who loved me even though I didn't mind if she had a gorgeous body like Leah's and those beautiful hazel eyes.

"Jacob…" She whispered sending a shiver down my spine. I never thought her voice would have that effect on me. "Your belt is hurting me."

My belt? I was pretty sure it wasn't my belt she was feeling. I felt my face heating up and prayed she wouldn't notice. She would never let me live down to it and even worse, the whole pack would know.

A few seconds went by and I made no effort to move or let her go. I was still considering the idea of kissing her besides if I got up I would have a clear view to her naked body and my "belt" could reveal himself to Leah.

"Do you want to seal the deal?" She asked and I was momentarily confused. Was she making me a sexual offer? Because I was tempted to say yes.

"What deal?" I asked stupidly.

"The beta thing…You're not changing your mind, are you?"

I shook my head no and sighed in relief.

"How are we going to seal the deal?"

She bit her bottom lip, which made my "belt" wake up again, and smiled. God she was killing me. Literally.

"I'll cook you breakfast tomorrow." She offered.

Was she really being nice to me? That was a first.

"Breakfast? In bed?"

"If you want to. But I'm not sleeping with you. You're not my type."

"You're not my type either." I said immediately feeling a bit self-conscious about our situation and then I finally got up. What I was feeling for her was wrong in too many levels. I had to put myself together and fight off this stupid and wild attraction. Wolf hormones sucked big time.

"Really? Well your _belt _doesn't agree with your words." She grinned mischievously.

I went to pick up her dress to hide my embarrassment and she followed me.

"Don't worry Jake…I guess that's just a normal and healthy human…and manly reaction." She said still amused. "Unless…" Her voice dropped.

"Just shut up Leah."

"Were you thinking about Bella?"

I faced her with a fierce expression but she wasn't scared.

"What if I was?" I retorted and she looked a bit disappointed.

"Forget it…You're just an idiot. Bella is not even a real woman anymore. Just move on…asshole."

She ripped the dress out of my hands and put it on quickly. Now I was the one disappointed. Me and my "belt". Leah should walk around naked more often.

"Don't forget about my breakfast tomorrow." I told her while she was walking away.

"Don't worry…I won't." She replied and for some reason I felt a chill.

As far as I knew Leah could cook but the way she had spoken made me wonder. Maybe she was planning on poisoning me? I shook my head to erase those thoughts and lay down again on the sand. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I was tired. Not physically but mentally and emotionally.

As I drifted off to sleep all I could think about wasn't Bella, Edward and their honeymoon. I just kept wondering why I hadn't thought about Bella when I was with Leah? I had non-innocent fantasies with Bella often but now…something had changed. I could feel it in my bones. I just couldn't understand why I had let Bella be replaced so quickly and on top of it by none other than Leah Clearwater…La Push's bitter harpy and my soon to be beta. She would make my life miserable. What the hell was I thinking?

"Shit." I mumbled just before falling asleep.

**To be continued...**

* * *

A/Note 2: Dedicated to all the Blackwater fans out there!

Have a happy New Year!

Take care, Karisan


	2. Ep 2 - Will you be my new best friend?

Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer not me.

Author/Note 1: This one-shot follows what happens in chapters 20, 21 and 22 of _Our Dawn 1_. For the ones who don't remember what happened in these two chapters of the first part of the Our Dawn Series, Bella and Edward go on their honeymoon and return to Forks a few weeks later. Jacob is heartbroken and Leah is trying to find her place in the pack. Any questions feel free to ask.

A/Note 2: I'm not a native English speaker so I'm sorry for my grammar and spelling. Thank you for reading.

_**Our Dawn Special Episodes**_

_**Episode Two – Will you be my new best friend?**_

_**Jacob Black**_

I got home around six in the morning. My body hurt for I had spent too many hours lying down on First Beach's sand. I hadn't been able to sleep that night so I was actually longing to reach my bed and sleep all morning and afternoon.

My dreams were a mixture of images I wanted to forget as soon as possible. My mental sanity was depending on it. I relived Bella and Edward's wedding over and over. Forced to watch their happiness and listen to their vows as everyone mocked me. Especially Leah. In my dreams she was always standing next to me, whispering things like _"I told you she would break your heart"_ or _"You should've listen to me in the first place" _or even _"She was never yours to begin with."_

And then I would find myself trapped underneath her naked body. She had a strong grip on my wrists but I wasn't making any efforts to set myself free. Her body was warm and I'd rather feel her warm than nothing at all.

Leah kept teasing me about Bella. About what she still represented in my life. About what I still felt about her now that she was a vampire.

"Just give up. She's a leech now. She is not the one for you." Leah's words flew with the wind and I felt myself cry. Leah held me, kissing my cheek before joining our lips together. And then I was all hers and she was restless. We made love in the sand, on the water, over the rocks and at the cliffs.

I woke up suddenly. My dream had been pretty convincing but it was only a product of my imagination. I couldn't believe I just had the same dream twice. I put my head up to see the time. The clock marked seven in the morning. I placed the pillow over my head and tried to forget the feeling of having Leah so close to me.

Falling in love with Bella Swan had been the stupidest thing I had done and I didn't need any more train wrecks in my life. Having sexual fantasies of Leah Clearwater would definitely cause my death. It was dangerous and even though all the wolves liked to watch her naked and even had one or two dirty fantasies about her, I should forget about it.

She was Seth's sister for crying out loud. She was like a sister to me and she was Sam's ex-girlfriend. Seth was a nice kid and didn't deserve to see my thoughts about his sister. He would freak out and would probably try to kill me because after what happened with Sam, Seth was always trying to protect his sister.

The problem was that having Leah on the pack was better than watching porn. Many of us were considering not paying for internet or cable anymore. We all knew it was wrong but we didn't care that much. Sam and Seth were the only ones who protected Leah's privacy. The rest of us just wanted to have some fun.

Deep inside of me I knew it was wrong. Leah had been hurt and betrayed too many times before to be treated like that: Sam, Emily…karma. She had the short end of the straw. Harry was dead, Sam had left her for her cousin and now she had to put up with us.

But she was so difficult to be with, to deal with, to relate with. Ever since Sam left her she had changed. All traces of the old nice Leah were gone and had been replaced by a cold-hearted harpy who hated to see anyone happy.

Maybe that was the reason why I felt some sort of empathy towards Leah. We were both suffering, we had been put aside, rejected by the people we loved the most and humiliated. And we would keep this memory forever.

After speaking to Leah on the beach, I felt surprisingly better. Bella and Edward were on their honeymoon and I was never going to be with her but I wasn't the only one hurting like that. Leah knew exactly what it was like to be the one left behind.

It was easy to connect to Leah's pain, it was easier to think about her than to think about my problems. So whenever I thought about Bella and Edward, I pictured Leah in a bikini, beside me, on the beach.

She had always been sort of beautiful. Despite her permanent scowl, she was one of prettiest girls that lived in La Push. And now that she was a wolf her body was even sexier than before: no aging, no fat, no cellulite. She was all natural. Leah had the perfect body, made to tempt us and make us go wild whenever she was naked in front of us.

With her temper that used to happen a lot in the past but now she was trying to have some sort of control over that particular aspect of her life much for our dismay.

Her beautiful brown eyes were a mystery. She could burn us inside out with one stare or make us feel completely in love with her. The only problem with Leah now was her anger. When she was angry, she was the most terrifying person on the planet.

I really should stop thinking about Leah but if I stopped thinking about Leah, I would think about Bella, and I didn't want to be that guy. The guy caught up on somebody that didn't love him. The second best, the consolation prize…that's what I'd been for Bella, nothing more than a shoulder to cry on.

Bella was out of my league now. Out of my life…for good. One day she would have to leave Forks with her new family and we would never see each other again. Behind she would only leave memories of what we could've been.

She was no longer the girl that had kept me company in my garage, assembling motorcycles, eating pizza and studying. Actually she was the one who studied; I only pretend to study. However Bella was a Cullen now. She was Edward's wife and a vampire and I was a wolf, a protector.

Everything had changed. Her heart didn't beat anymore, her brown eyes were gone forever, her red lips would never turn blue with the cold, her face would not blush one more time. She was a Cold One now.

And yes, I was angry because I had been the one that had made all of that possible. If Bella was now sleeping in Edward's marble arms was because I had given him permission to change her. I was the one to blame.

"Are you crying Black?"

I put the pillow away and saw Leah bending over me. Her dark orbs studied mine.

"How did you get inside?"

"Through the door."

"What do you want?"

"I thought you'd like some company."

"I don't." I stated firmly. I didn't want her there, I didn't need company. I just wanted to get some sleep and put the past behind.

"I'm just clearing out a debt."

"What debt?"

"You comforted me…earlier at the beach…"

"You don't owe me anything Leah. I just…I said the truth. You should forget all about Sam and move on. He doesn't deserve you."

"Look who's talking. Maybe you should follow your own advices."

I turned my head the other way so I could avoid her eyes. I didn't want her to know she was right.

"I know what you're thinking Jacob." She said coming closer. I could feel her body heat engulfing me and I wished to get away from her but for some reason I didn't move an inch. "You're thinking about her…you're thinking that Bella is being deflowered as we speak, aren't you? They're getting laid and you're here all alone…"

"Shut up Leah!" I growled.

"She wanted Edward. She wanted his frozen dick, not yours. You know that Jacob, but somehow you still hoped she changed her mind. You wanted her to pick you, so you could both have your first time with each other…two romantic fools…"

"I'm warning you Leah. Stop talking or I'll…"

"You what?" She challenged. "Do you honestly think I'm scared of you?"

"You should be."

"You're just a kid. You can't even accept that Bella never loved you. Not like a woman should love a man anyway. And that makes all the difference."

"What difference?"

"Between you and me." She whispered and her face was suddenly dark. That's when I realised what she was talking about.

"You're talking about Sam, aren't you?" I asked.

"We…I was his and he was mine. What you couldn't have with Bella, I had it all with Sam. He was my first boyfriend, my first time…" She sighed. "It wasn't as pleasant as everyone thinks it is, you know? It hurts for women and men…they usually finish off so quickly they don't even realise what happened."

"Just let it go." I said, trying to ignore the fact that we were actually talking about her first time with Sam Uley, who just happened to be my former alpha.

"Let it go? We had dreams and we planned a future together. I had Sam, he was mine…until he imprinted on Emily but you never had Bella Swan."

"Forget about Sam!" I insisted.

"Forget about Bella!" She retorted.

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because…I don't know how. I'm not prepared to let her go yet."

"You can't miss what you never had."

"That doesn't mean I didn't love her with all my heart. I loved her as much as you loved Sam."

Leah shrugged.

"And look where that took me…" She muttered. "You know what, Black? I can make you forget her. At least for one night."

My heart skipped a beat when I realised what she meant. Her voice sounded like a sensual whisper and I felt chills up and down my back.

"You felt it too, didn't you? At the beach? When you hugged me?"

"I didn't hug you." I said immediately while Leah was placing herself on top of me.

"You were going to kiss me." She grinned.

"No…" I lied.

"I've been in your head too many times before to know when you're lying Black. I can read you like a book."

"What the hell are you doing Leah?" I asked when she started to remove her blouse.

"Bella is with Edward. I can turn you into a real man on the same night she's giving herself to that leech. It'll be your payback."

"I don't want to get even." I confessed. Despite being the truth, having a half-naked hot woman on top of me was actually quite tempting.

"Don't you want to be a man? Do you know that men in our country lose their virginity around fourteen?"

I almost chocked. Was she serious?

"I haven't been with anyone else since Sam. And it was a long time ago." She added.

"I know."

"You do?"

I diverted my eyes from hers.

"I've been in your head too, remember?"

"I didn't know my love life interested you." She smiled.

"I'm not interested in your love life…but I know you're not interested in a relationship. I know you don't believe in love anymore."

"I believe in love Jacob." She stated. "I just don't believe I'm cut for it. But sex isn't love. I can help you and you can help me. No strings attached."

Maybe she was still drunk. Maybe she was just trying to humiliate me. Maybe she was just trying to get some attention. I should send her away. I should just tell her I wasn't interested. But if that was the case, why was I placing my hands around her waist?

"Leah…This…"

"This is a mistake." She finished the sentence for me. "I'm not Bella…and I'm not Emily either…"

"It's not that you're not good enough. Trust me, you are beautiful and sometimes you can be really nice but I don't want us to hurt each other."

If we ended up sleeping together she would regret it and after that she would start avoiding me and hating me even more. And things would be unbearable for the rest of the pack. They would know the truth and we'd end up arguing and fighting over something that wouldn't last.

Besides, I didn't want to use her like that.

"What's the problem then?"

"I don't want to hurt you. I don't want to be Sam."

"I know that but I need this as much as you do. I need to feel something different."

"And what will happen next?"

Leah shrugged. We had gone through similar situations and that was the reason we felt connected somehow. I had no idea if there was more and neither did she.

"It's just sex…I guess we need to burn some steam and if by some miracle we can forget about our pain for a few hours, the better."

"So that's the reason why you came to me?"

"Yes. You understand…" She confessed and I felt a bit happy about it. "Actually it was either you or Embry." And the happiness I had felt fainted when she mentioned my friend's name.

"Embry?" I questioned. "Because none of us imprinted?"

She nodded.

"And because you're almost eighteen." She added. "The others are too young or imprinted."

"Would you do it with Embry?" I insisted. Why was that such a big deal for me? Leah was a grown up woman, if she wanted to have sex with someone else, why should I care?

"Probably."

"Did you go to his place too?"

It sounded like I was jealous.

"Not yet. Embry is only plan B."

"What's the plan A then?"

I pulled her body closer to mine and an intense heat engulfed us. She fitted so perfectly against my body that it was actually scaring.

"I want to be with you tonight. I need to feel something else than emptiness. I need to feel a woman again and I want to give you something in return. I don't want you to think about her or Edward, I don't want you to be depressed about it because I know it hurts too much. I don't want you to become me. You're too good, too important. Honestly I always thought she wasn't good enough for you. You're the heir of Ephraim Black and Bella was just a fool who made the wrong decision. I know that my words won't make a difference but at least you'll know I understand too. Even if you hate me…I know what you're feeling…"

"I don't hate you." I told her. Her eyes were filled with tears that she was fighting to keep. I felt the sudden need to protect her and hold her. "I could never hate you. And you're not responsible for what happened between me and Bella. I always knew she loved him more but I allowed myself to dream about a future with her…I did this to myself."

"I know I shouldn't say this…but I'm glad she picked him." Leah whispered. "I know I'm selfish but I can't help it."

"That's what makes all the difference."

"What difference?"

"Between you and her."

Leah looked at me with a curious expression on her face.

"Bella was always insecure. She was always hiding behind that insecurity. But you…you tell people the truth even if it hurts. You don't care about sugarcoating things…"

"Is that a flaw?"

"Yes, but it's also a quality and I admire that."

"Really?"

I rolled my eyes.

"I'm serious. I admire your strength but I would also like to see your weaknesses too. I wish you'd show me the real Leah sometimes."

"You wouldn't like to meet the real Leah, Black…Trust me."

"Why not? You think I couldn't handle you?"

"I think you'd be disappointed and you'd probably change your mind about your proposition."

"What proposition?"

"About the beta position…"

"I'm not changing my mind about that Leah. I trust you."

"But I'm going to make your life a living Hell. You and Sam will fight because of me. Some of the wolves won't even accept me as beta."

"I don't care. I want you to be my beta. That's final."

Leah put her arms over my naked chest and her lips almost touched mine.

"This is dangerous." She whispered.

"What is?"

"Us." She replied. "Do you think we'll be able to control ourselves? Don't you think we'll end up falling in temptation?"

We couldn't deny there was some sort of attraction between us. The feelings were there but it was too confusing, too hard to analyse. I had no idea what was wrong with me. All I knew was that when I was with her, Bella was out of my mind. However Leah was right. It was dangerous. We weren't ready for a relationship. We were both broken beyond repair but we could help each other if we didn't personalise whatever this was.

As long as feelings weren't involved, we could comfort each other, we could forget about the pain. And I wouldn't mind to have my first time with Leah.

"Will you regret it?" I asked her.

"No. Why would I?"

"I don't want to force you."

"I suggested it Jacob. But if you'd rather wait for your soul mate I guess I can always visit Embry."

"No." I said immediately. I wanted to choose for myself. And I didn't want her to go to Embry.

"Are you scared?"

"No." I lied. I was scared because I was about to do something I shouldn't be doing. I was scared because I had never done that before.

When Leah removed her tiny black shorts I almost had a heart attack. She was a natural beauty. Her long legs, her breasts, her dark hair. Everything about her was perfect and I had never noticed it.

"We need rules." She stated placing her hands on the hem of my shorts.

"Rules?" I stuttered.

"No one can know about this. You'll have to control your thoughts when we're phased."

"So will you."

She kissed my neck and smiled wickedly. I just wanted to cage her under my body and take her.

"If Seth finds out, he'll kill you." She warned.

"I know."

"I will never forgive you if you call me Bella. Understand?"

"Yes." I agreed. "I hope you don't call me Sam. Is there anything else?"

"This is sex, and that's all. No affection or cuddling when it's over. You can't fall in love with me, got it?"

"Fine. Just don't fall for me either, Clearwater."

She laughed lightly.

"You're not my style, Black."

"You're not mine either." I told her.

"Close your eyes, Jacob." She asked me seductively. I obliged. She leaned over. This was it. I was about to sleep with Leah Clearwater and I didn't care about the consequences. "Don't fall for me Black." She whispered on my ear.

"I won't fall for you." I assured her. "I won't fall for you."

I waited for her touch impatiently.

"Jacob!" Leah's voice made me open my eyes. "Wake up!"

I sat down realising she was no longer on top of me. Instead I saw her sitting down on the edge of my bed, wearing a short blue skirt and a red top. She looked at me with curiosity.

"Were you having a nightmare?" She questioned and I realised I had been dreaming again.

"What the hell..." I muttered.

"You were talking in your sleep."

I blushed and fortunately she didn't notice. I had no intention of telling her about my dream.

"Breakfast is ready." She said getting up. "Billy is already eating."

I looked to the watch on my bedside table. It was eight in the morning.

"I want to sleep." I complained and fell back. "What are you doing here so early?"

"I promised I would cook you breakfast, remember?"

"Ten o'clock would be fine."

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed." She commented.

"Well after last night I hardly slept." I told her.

"And how is that my fault?"

"I'm not saying it is."

"Good. Now get your ass in the kitchen and have breakfast with your father."

Leah Clearwater knew how to be bossy. And I liked it. Or at least my male parts did.

"Fine. I'll go! Now leave my bedroom."

She turned around and closed the door behind her. It took me a while to calm myself down. I grabbed some cleaned clothes and went to the bathroom. After a cold shower I joined my dad. He was congratulating Leah for her cooking skills.

"I didn't know what you usually have for breakfast so I cooked all of this." She said when I walked in.

I was in silence for a while. There were toasts, eggs, bacon, cereals, coffee, a chocolate cake and pancakes.

"I shouldn't have done this." She whispered when I didn't answer.

"No. I'm just surprised. You don't even cook for your own brother..."

"I'm just keeping a promise."

I smiled and I tried the eggs. It was actually good. Better than mine anyways.

"Are you okay dad?" I asked.

"It's not poisoned." Leah mumbled under her breath so my dad wouldn't hear.

"I'm fine son. I wish Rachel could cook like this."

Leah smiled and I spilled some coffee on the table. I had never noticed how beautiful she was when she was smiling like that.

"Be careful Jake." My dad said.

"Well, well...Did we hire a cook?" Rachel asked leaving her bedroom to join us.

"No. Leah cooked this for Jake. You have to try this." My father offered.

"I didn't know you and Leah were such close friends." Rachel teased.

"I promised I'd cook him breakfast. That's all." Leah explained.

"I don't mind if you keep cooking my son's breakfast. It's really good."

"So my food isn't good enough for you dad?" Rachel asked.

"That's not what I said."

"I only did this because Jacob and I will have a different relationship from now on." Leah stated.

"Really?" Both dad and Rachel questioned.

"Yes." Leah confirmed.

"Come on Leah, spill it." Rachel ordered. I had a bad feeling about this. If Leah told Rachel I had asked her to be my beta, Paul would know the next minute and I would have a lot of explaining to do. Fortunately my sister's cell phone started ringing and she went to her bedroom to pick up the call.

"Jacob asked me to be his beta." Leah said when Rachel left. My father was surprised.

"His beta? As in…the pack's beta wolf?"

Leah nodded and I kept my mouth shut.

"Jake asked you to be his beta?" My father questioned again.

"Are you demented?" A voice came from the door and I wished I could just disappear. "But we have one already, right?"

"Yes, Paul. We do have a beta but…"

"But you asked her anyway?" Paul cut me off.

"Yes." I admitted.

"When?"

"Yesterday. After Bella's wedding."

"You were drunk, weren't you?" Paul laughed. "Or did you smoke the weed Jared and I gave you a couple of months ago?"

"I had a few beers…and some wine." I confessed.

"Sam is the beta of the pack." My father stated. "He's Levi Uley's great grandson."

"I know."

"That doesn't make Sam the best man for the job." Leah declared. "There are more competent wolves in our pack."

"Well if there are, you're not one of them Clearwater." Paul stated smugly. She glared at him. "You almost killed Jake once, remember? When you thought you were able to face a newborn vampire on your own."

"I'm the fastest in the pack and Jacob can trust me. I protected Bella, Seth and Jacob when Irina tried to kill them. What about you asshole? What did you do?"

"Big deal." Paul dismissed her. "We can't trust you. You're a harpy."

"Jacob would never ask me to be his beta if he didn't trust me, right?" She looked at me, waiting for support but I didn't know what to say.

She had done some stupid things in the past but I held no resentments about that. I was glad I saved her during that fight with that newborn but Paul was right about something too. Leah was impulsive. I didn't know if I could trust her one hundred per cent and her position as beta would cause trouble within the pack.

Most of the members in the pack didn't like Leah. Some of them thought she was cruel and mean. Other simply feared her due to her snarky comments and her lack of emotions. Embry and Quil didn't like her company while Paul hated her with passion because she was always making fun of everyone.

I wanted her to fit in because it was unfair to make her feel like she was a burden. That day when Leah was face to face with that newborn vampire she was trying to prove she was worthy of being called a protector. She was trying to prove she was as good as any of the boys. But at the same time, she felt that it was alright to fall in the battlefield. She thought it would be a good death. She'd die a hero. And I had refused to let that happen.

Sue and Seth had already lost Harry and Leah had yet a lot to live for, even though she couldn't see it for now.

I didn't hate Leah like the others but I didn't know if I should keep my word. The truth was that I had asked her to be my beta in a moment of stress and fear. All I wanted was to make her stop and I had blurted out the first thing that came into my mind.

"Maybe the position of gama wolf would suit you better?" I tried.

"Gama?" She inquired skeptically.

"I saw it on some Discovery Channel documentary. Sometimes a pack is formed by an alpha, a beta and a gama. A gama wolf usually takes care of the youngest wolves. You'd be good at it."

Actually she would suck at it because Leah had no maternal instincts on her bones. She would rather let the younger wolves fend for themselves than actually help them.

"Why don't you just say I'm the omega?" Leah spat acidly.

"Leah…"

"Forget it Jacob. I should know you were just trying to be nice."

"That's not true."

"I'm glad you enjoyed your breakfast."

Leah passed through me and went straight to the forest. I heard her clothes being ripped apart and I had to stop myself from going after her. I took a step forward but Paul stopped me.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He asked crossing his arms.

"Nothing's wrong with me."

"You invited Leah Clearwater to be our beta! Either you turned insane or there's something going on between the two of you."

"Nothing's going on between us." I growled.

My little outburst only made Paul think otherwise.

"Are you doing her?" He asked me with a grin.

"Shut up Paul!" I warned him. All I wanted was an excuse to hit him.

"You're sleeping with Leah?" Rachel chose the worst time to join us again. "She's four years older than you. We grew up together…that's just wrong Jake. Besides you're still a minor."

"I'm not sleeping with Leah." I assured them. And I wasn't. I'm mean dreams didn't count, right?

"In that case why did she cook you breakfast?" Rachel was on interrogation mode.

"Because…Just because. I don't know…She was trying to be nice."

"Right…because Leah Clearwater is such a nice girl." Paul joked.

Should I tell them the truth about the previous night? Should I tell them Leah had had a breakdown on the beach and had tried to drown herself? I couldn't do it. Leah would feel humiliated and I didn't want that. I didn't want her to hurt more.

"She's trying to change." I said.

"Whatever Jake. Just be sure you're safe, okay?" Rachel left to have a shower and Paul had a huge grin on his face.

"You just wait until Sam…"

"Sam has nothing to do with this." I cut Paul off. "I asked her to be my beta because I thought it was a good idea. Leah needs to take responsibility; she needs to feel herself useful…"

"You have to be joking. She's cruel and selfish. She won't change just because you gave her a higher rank."

"I'm not taking my word back. It wouldn't be right. I know I should've talk to the pack and the Council but I didn't have time."

"In that case, we'll have a meeting." My father suggested. "Let's call the pack, Sue and Old Quil so we can discuss the subject."

I guess that was the only way to fix this.

"You call the others." I told Paul. I went to pick up some extra clothes so I could go after Leah.

"Why?" He questioned while I was tying the clothes to my left ankle.

"Why did you have to imprint on my sister…" I complained. "Just do what you're told."

"You're going after her?" He asked.

"Yes."

"Fine." He said taking some bacon and eggs into a plate. "You know if I didn't know you're still in love with Bella, I'd say you'd fallen for Leah Clearwater."

I ignored his comment and left. I realised then I hated Paul almost as much as Leah. That was one more thing we had in common. I phased when I reached the first trees and followed Leah's scent through the woods. I was hoping to hear her thoughts once I was in wolf form but all I met was silence.

Suddenly I got worried. What if she had tried to kill herself again? What if she'd done something stupid because I wasn't able to keep my word and defend her against Paul's accusations?

Leah could try many things to take her own life. There were no vampires nearby, Harry did have a gun but she was on the opposite direction of her house so that only left…drowning.

Focusing on her sweet scent I reached the beach and saw her sitting down on the sand, naked and staring into the horizon with a vague expression.

"Put this on." I gave her my t-shirt after putting my cut-offs on. Leah took a few seconds to realise she wasn't alone anymore and then she grabbed the t-shirt and put it on in silence.

"Leave." She whispered.

"I don't think so."

"I don't need your charity." She raised her voice.

"I'm sorry." I told her. "I'm sorry I didn't stick up to you against Paul."

"I don't need a lawyer, Black."

Carefully I sat down beside her.

"I want to be alone." She warned me. It had suddenly started to rain but it wasn't cold.

"I'm not leaving."

"Whatever you're thinking about saying, won't make a difference. Besides I always knew you weren't serious about it. Just do yourself a favour and go home. Think about that breakfast as a bonus."

"I asked you to be my beta because I believe you have certain qualities none of the other wolves have." I declared and she finally looked at me.

"Like what? Boobs? A nice ass?" She asked with the sarcasm evident in her voice.

"No…I've never seen anyone defending his brother like you did when Irina attacked Seth."

"That's because Seth's my brother. My real brother."

"We're all brothers in the pack. The point is, you knew you could die and yet you risked your live not only for him but also for me and Bella."

"I was doing my job. I don't need you to come here and tell me how brave I was or how strong I am. We both know you're just trying to make me feel better and it isn't working."

"I'm not backing down." I assured her. "The offer still stands. I'm going to talk to the Council when we get back."

Now she was surprised.

"If I accept your offer things will be a lot worse for you. So why don't you just take it back while you can."

"Because I don't want to. I want you to accept it. I'm not afraid of a challenge."

"No one will accept it Jacob. An omega can't be a beta."

"Who said you're the omega?"

Leah glared at me.

"I'm smarter than all of you but it doesn't take a genius to see that I'm at the bottom of the pyramid."

"There are younger wolves."

"I know, but I'm the one being treated like shit."

Maybe she was right. But now that could change. I wanted it to change.

"Accept the offer and show the other wolves that you can be better than them."

"You'll be sorry for this Black." She smiled.

"We'll see about that Clearwater."

"So, if I'm going to be beta, will Sam take the gama position?"

"Maybe."

She got up and I took a glance at her long golden legs while she was brushing the sand off.

"You and me…Do you think we'll be able to resist temptation?" She asked. The Leah in my dream had asked me the same question.

"Temptation?" I asked nervously.

"Of killing each other." She explained. "You know we won't agree with each other most of the times and I'll always question your orders."

"It's going to be hard but I'm sure we'll make it."

"I'm going to love to watch Sam's face." She stated smugly.

Sam didn't take the news so well. The beta position was rightfully his and he said that Leah wasn't ready to take that position for she was too impulsive and wild for me to control her. He also thought that if she took that position the pack would meet difficult times because most of its members wouldn't agree.

Paul, Jared, Embry and Quil agreed with Sam. That called for another kind of agreement. I suggested an evaluation. I would evaluate Leah and Sam's performances as wolves during patrols and then I would make my final decision. Reluctantly everyone accepted.

xxxxxxxxxx

The next days turned to weeks and I had to spend more time with both Leah and Sam to be able to judge their abilities as wolves so I could choose one as my beta. They were equally motivated. Patrols were dull with Sam and more fun with Leah despite her snarky comments and bitchy mood.

They knew how do to their jobs properly. Sam was more confident and diligent while Leah was more earth-to-earth. I knew all about Sam's qualities and all about Leah's flaws, and surprisingly, she was the one I wanted by my side.

Leah was the fastest wolf in the pack and she wasn't easily fooled. She was smart, strong and intelligent. I was impressed. But then, when Edward and Bella arrived after their honeymoon, everything changed.

I wasn't at home when Bella and her vampire husband came to visit us. My father had an appointment at the local hospital so dad, Rachel and I were at Forks that morning.

I was with my sister on the waiting room when I received Seth's text message. I learned that Leah had had an argument with Bella and had left home in a hurry. She had gone into the woods and no one knew about her for a while now. Sue was worried sick and Seth feared she could go after Bella and the mind rapist and start a war with the Cullens.

If Sam ever knew about this Leah would have zero chances to become my beta and it was my responsibility as alpha to find her and bring her back. I handed the car keys over to my sister and left immediately. As soon as I phased Leah's thoughts hit me like a thousand bricks. I relived through her eyes the meeting with Bella and Edward that morning.

'_I'm not in the mood for your lecture Jacob.'_ She growled. _'Shouldn't you be with Billy?'_

'_Duty calls.' _

'_Who told you? Seth?'_

'_He's worried about you. You can't blame him after everything that happened.'_

'_I'm not a child anymore. I need everyone to leave me alone.'_

'_Leah…you can't push us all away.'_

'_Don't you patronise me, Black!'_

'_What happened? Why are you acting like this?'_

'_You know what happened. You saw it in my memories.'_

'_I saw you yelling at Bella and the mind rapist. I saw you giving back the gift she bought for you…'_

'_A silver bracelet. Does she really think she can buy me with a bracelet?'_

'_I'm sure Bella didn't mean that. You should've been nicer.'_

'_I'm not going to apologise. Don't even think about ordering me to apologise to them.'_

That didn't even cross my mind. I was going to win this battle without resorting to an alpha command.

'_Let's talk properly Leah.'_ I suggested. I didn't want to keep arguing with her in wolf form. Leah was dangerous enough in her human form much less with claws and sharp teeth.

'_There's nothing to talk about. I was rude to your precious Bella but I didn't lay a finger on her or her sparkly husband. The treaty is safe.'_

'_I want to know why you flipped like that. Bella didn't hurt you. Why were you so harsh?'_

'_Please…spare me the Romeo's character, will you? She has her Prince Charming already.'_

'_Don't change the subject Leah. I thought we were becoming friends. The last weeks you managed to keep your temper under control and now…'_

'_I was pretending to be someone I'm not because I wanted to be beta. Sooner or later we both know I would fuck everything up. I'm not the nice and generous type anymore.'_

'_So, you don't want to be beta anymore?'_

'_I'm pretty sure I ruined my chances when I yelled at your leech girl.'_

'_She's not my leech girl, Leah.' _I declared. Bella was only a friend now. Nothing more.

A couple of weeks ago I would do anything to win Bella back. I would die for Bella if that meant she'd pick me instead of that leech. But now I knew I couldn't spend the rest of my life waiting for her because time can't go back and Bella would never be human again. Right now I was still in love with the human part of Bella but in a few years I would let her go. My feelings for her would stop.

'_She should've picked you. You were the right choice.'_ Leah had been listening to my thoughts.

'_Why do you think that?'_

'_Because you could give her a lot more than that vampire.'_

'_I couldn't give her what she really wanted.'_

'_One day she's going to look back and see that she was wrong. She'll be here to witness you and your imprint being happy, having kids, getting old together and she'll feel like an idiot for turning you down. I wish I could have a choice too.'_

I could feel Leah's pain, her anger, her sorrow. It was overwhelming. I felt through the mind link the way she blamed herself for Harry's heart attack, for Sam's abandonment, for being stuck in La Push without the possibility of having a normal life. And then she slipped the previous night meeting with Sue and Old Quil. The elder had told her she would never have children.

'_I never really thought about kids before…' _She confessed. '_And now…I won't have anyone…a family…'_

'_You don't know that for sure. It's just a theory.'_ I tried to keep her hopes high.

'_It's been months since I've got my period. I'm frozen in time like the vampires. I won't be able to have a baby. So while you and the rest of the guys get the love of your lives, I'm left with shit.'_

'_You're not a vampire Leah. You're different. You're unique.'_

'_You failed Biology, didn't you Black? Without a menstrual cycle I can't get pregnant and as long as the vampires keep coming here, I won't stop phasing…'_

'_I get that but…'_

'_Leave it Jacob. It's not your problem anyway.'_

'_Yes, it is. If it affects my beta, it affects me.'_

Leah turned back to human and put a yellow and green sundress. I was only a few feet away from her. When she met me, I was putting my shorts on.

"I'm still in the race for the beta position?" She asked.

"Sure."

"Why?"

"Because I'm the alpha."

"Sam is way better than me and he's Levi's great grandson. You should have someone like him by your side, giving you good advice and not someone like me, always complaining and driving you insane."

"I like that about you. I love when you drive me insane."

Leah laughed.

"Are you a masochist?"

"Maybe I am."

"Look…I think it's best if I just quit. This won't work."

"I know you're not the safest choice and you're no angel. You can be really annoying some times and you're probably the most stubborn girl I ever met but I know you're not a quitter, Clearwater. You didn't come this far to let Sam beat you a second time, did you?"

Leah looked at me and smiled that smile that made me temporarily forget everything.

"Have you ever considered taking a Psychology degree?" She asked me.

"Maybe in a few years."

"So did you pick one of us already?"

"Not yet. I think it's time for a real competition."

"Finally." She said excitedly.

"I'll talk to the Council and Sam and then the three of us will leave together so I can spend more time with the two of you."

"Fine by me. But are you sure you're not just trying to go away so you don't run into your ex-girlfriend?"

I shrugged.

"I don't care about her anymore…I mean not like that. She's friend. She has a new life with her new family. I wish her good luck."

"Do you want to know how she's doing?"

"Will you tell me?"

"She looked fine for a dead girl."

"That's not what I wanted to know."

"She looked happy with him. They both did."

That's what I loved about Leah. Though she knew her words would hurt me she still told me the truth.

"Good." My eyes met Leah's and I knew she was analysing me, reading my soul with her brown eyes. If there was someone who could understand me was her. "I'm not in love with her anymore. I can't love a vampire."

"Yeah…Maybe there's still hope for you. Anyways you still have imprinting. One day you'll meet your soul mate and you'll be happy."

"Right now I don't really want an imprint. But I am one best friend short."

"I'm not the best person to help you choose a best friend."

"In that case I'll have to accept you."

"I thought I was applying for the beta position."

"You can be both."

"And what's in it for me?"

"A free breakfast?" I suggested.

"Do you know how to cook?"

"I'm not a chef, but I can cook."

"Okay…But I don't want too many calories, got it?"

"Are you worried about your diet, Clearwater?"

"Shut up, Black." Leah turned around and started walking towards the reservation.

"So we have deal, right?" I asked, trying to keep up with her.

"What deal?"

"Will you be my new best friend?"

"I'll tell you after you've cooked me breakfast."

Our eyes met once again and I smiled happily. To be with Leah wasn't that hard after all. Most of the times Leah was hiding behind a cold mask to protect herself from more heartache but in rare occasions she would let this mask fall.

"So, do you like pancakes with jam?" I asked.

"Not really. Too much sugar."

I frowned.

"Cream?"

"I hate it."

I glared at her knowing that she was probably lying to sabotage my efforts.

"Come on, you have to like something."

"I do but I'm not going to tell you. You have to figure it out."

I sighed. To be Leah's best friend would be the hardest challenge of my life. But I was ready to fight and win.

**To be continued...**

* * *

Take care

Karisan


	3. Ep 3 - Epiphany

Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer not me.

Author/Note 1: This one-shot follows what happens between chapters 7 and 8 of _Our Dawn 2_. For the ones who don't remember what happened in these two chapters a vampire arrives to La Push on Charlie and Sue's wedding day. Leah gets hurt fighting and Jacob tries to help her.

A/Note 2: I'm not a native English speaker so I'm sorry for my grammar and spelling. Thank you for reading.

_**Our Dawn Series Specials**_

_**Episode Three – Epiphany**_

_**Jacob Black**_

We decided to double the patrols after the attack of an unknown vampire on the day Charlie and Sue got married. We had to make sure our lands and our people were safe and we suspected the leech had something to do with Irina's revenge plan. Since we couldn't prove it, our mission remained the same: kill all the leeches that came close to our lands and Forks.

The Cullens were also helping us, especially because we could accidentally kill one of their old acquaintances. That was the reason why we were now patrolling together. Initially I agreed with the idea because that meant we could have more time to rest but now I wasn't so sure because I was always put together with Edward and he was damn annoying.

He had taken Bella away from me, he was partially responsible for our transformation and now he somehow thought he had the right to read my mind as he pleased. I hated his ability to read my thoughts without permission and to analyse me whenever he felt like it.

Besides there were things I didn't want to share with my friends much less with him.

"I never had the intention of crossing paths with you Jacob." Edward told me as we were finishing the evening's patrol. "If our destinies crossed was just a mere coincidence."

'_An unfortunate one…' _I thought. I ran behind a tree to phase back to human and put on some clothes. To be naked around my pack mates was one thing, around the Cullens was another.

"It's not my fault that your thoughts are screaming. You're practically begging me to read your mind."

"No, I'm not." I opposed. "You read my mind because you enjoy torturing me."

"That's not my intention at all."

"Sure, sure…" I rolled my eyes at him. Why couldn't have been Emmett to have that ability instead of Edward?

"You're in a bad mood, huh?"

"Congratulations, you're a genius." I mocked. "Usually my humour drops significantly when I have you as my partner."

"I don't really think that's it." He said with a superior look. "I remember I told you to be careful with your decisions."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm just trying to help."

"Who told you I need help?"

"It's quite obvious Jacob."

"Why?"

"Because you're always like this when Leah Clearwater is involved. She's the only person who can get under your skin like this."

"Leah has nothing to do with this." I lied even knowing he would pick up the lie. It was true, he had warned me about the consequences of making Leah my beta. But I couldn't turn back on my word.

"You can tell her that Sam is the rightful beta. I'm sure she'll understand."

"If I do that you'll find my body all over the forest the next morning. Leah doesn't understand that and she will never accept she's any less than Sam."

"You can ask Sam to have a word with her…"

"No way! She'll castrate me…besides I would never let Sam humiliate Leah like that."

"What about an alpha command?"

"Are you mental? If I do that she'll kill me."

"So, you'll let her do whatever she wants."

"She's too stubborn."

"You do have a favourite." He smiled smugly.

"What are you implying?"

"Nothing…It's just that you're being overprotective about her ever since she hurt her leg."

"I'm not protecting her. Actually I would rather know she was going to patrol like all the others but..."

"But she's not because you're giving her the night off."

"She hurt herself protecting the reservation, it's only fair…"

Edward laughed.

"Your mind is conflicting with your words. You didn't want to give her the night off and you're too scared of accepting what that means. You also want to protect her from Sam but you're scared that the others will notice."

"I don't want to talk to you about this."

"You worry about her." He declared.

"No, I don't!" I rolled my eyes trying to make Edward leave my case. "Leah is my beta and that's all."

"How can you say that after those two weeks you spent with Sam and Leah to choose your beta?"

"What's that to do with anything?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

"That incident with Sam was nothing." I explained, knowing exactly what Edward was talking about.

A few months ago I had spent two weeks with Leah and Sam to study their performances as wolves and to decide who should become the pack's beta. Sam was Levi Uley's descendent and the position was his by default but Leah possessed certain qualities that made me want her as my second-in-command.

Sam had more experience as a wolf and as a warrior. He had been the first to phase and everyone in the pack respected him. Even the elders shared an undeniable respect for Samuel Uley.

Leah was quite the opposite. She was impulsive and a hot head and she could drive anyone crazy in less than a second. She was hated by most of the members in the pack because she was too bitter to have a decent relationship with, apart from Seth, of course.

Because she was the only girl in the group, she didn't have anyone to help her fitting in. There was no helping hand for her. Most of the times she felt excluded and not loved. No one understood her points of view and no one wanted to be her friend since she was far too hostile to all of us. She was broken, just like me.

However I could see so much potential in her. Maybe I was just crazy but Leah could keep us grounded, she never backed down from a fight and she always thought about the well-being of our people.

In one occasion Leah and Sam had an argument. He told her things I wouldn't say to my worst enemy. He was unfair and a creep and I felt the urge to protect Leah so I did what an alpha was supposed to do.

"You fought with Sam."

"He shouldn't have spoken to her like that. I was trying to help and we didn't fight. I pushed him against a tree and that's it."

"You fought." Edward insisted. "She was vulnerable, you wanted to protect Leah and you fought with Sam."

"Sam was being a jerk. He actually told her she would never be like Emily. I couldn't let her fall into another depression. She's been through Hell and she's finally getting on with her life. I was not going to let Sam ruin that for her."

"You shouldn't be ashamed. You did a good job actually. I think you did the right thing but you should've realised what's going on by now."

"Stop analysing me as if I'm a damn charity project." I fumed.

"You're not a charity project for me…But the real question is: is she your charity project Jacob?"

I couldn't find the words to reply. I had no idea what to say. Was she? Was she my charity project?

"If she's just a replacement you better leave her alone because that means you're worse than Sam. You're using her to feel better about yourself."

"Fuck you leech." I turned my back on him.

"I don't believe you're doing it on purpose. I think she means more than that to you but I advise you to be careful. We're talking about Leah Clearwater."

"Embry and Jared will be ready in ten minutes. Tell Emmett to meet them at the border."

I left through the woods. I was fed up with Edward's theories about my new relationship with Leah. Was he was insinuating I liked her or was he just trying to piss me off?

Either way, I knew everything was different now. Being a stupid mind rapist, Edward knew I thought about Leah more frequently than before and a lot more than I was supposed to. He also knew the kind of thoughts I had about her. And sometimes I didn't think about her as my pack sister or my beta. Sometimes I thought about her in a less orthodox way.

I was trying to put those thoughts away but recently it was becoming quite hard, especially now that Leah was about to go on a date. I'd never thought I would see this day. The day Leah Clearwater would finally accept to go out with another guy. After Sam, we always thought she would never look at another man.

I had read in Seth's mind that this was his idea. He had begged her to accept going out on a date. Leah was reluctant at first but Seth eventually managed to convince her. 'You won't know if he's the right guy for you, if you don't give him a chance. It's time you move on.'

Those had been Seth's words. Leah had thought about it and gave in, promising her brother to castrate him if her date was some sort of mongrel without a brain or some rude punk. It turned out that her date was actually Collin's cousin, Kaynan who lived in the Makah Reservation.

He was visiting the family for a couple of weeks and Seth had told us that they used to hang out together when the Clearwaters used to visit the Makah Reservation. Apparently Kaynan was Leah's age and back then he had a crush on her. That's why Seth thought he would be a good candidate for this little experiment.

Would she be able to move on past Sam? Would she let anyone in? Somehow the thought of Leah going out with Kaynan was upsetting and I didn't understand why. Maybe Edward was right and I was using her as a charity project, as a replacement. I had failed to help Bella when Edward left, she had been broken and I was unable to put the pieces back together. It was the same with Leah. Sam had broken her heart and I wanted to be the one to help her but now Kaynan was in my way. I was supposed to be the one fixing her, not a stranger from the Makah Reservation.

That was probably the reason why I was so angry. I felt I was losing the battle again. I couldn't lose Leah to that guy. She was the only person who understood me, even if she used to make fun of me for wanting to stay close to Bella, Leah was the only other person I could be around without pretending to be someone I wasn't.

All of the other pack members had accepted their fates. Leah and I hadn't. She had gained the short end of the stick and I was forced to be in charge by the power of my bloodline heritage. None of us had wanted to turn into giant wolves, none of us had wanted to chase vampires for the rest of our lives. The magic of our legends had resulted in a chaos for us however all of the others saw it as a blessing.

Some had found love in their imprints, others had found a purpose of living, and others were just happy to be a part of the pack. But Leah and I knew better. Life wasn't a fairytale. She had lost the love of her life when Sam imprinted on her cousin and I had lost mine to a freaking vampire, my mortal enemy.

And it was hard to move on. It was hard not to suffer and the only thing that made me accept it was the knowledge that someone else was going through the same. I wasn't alone. Leah knew how I felt and for some reason I hoped we could help each other to heal.

But now she was moving on and I was back at square one. She had a chance to be the old happy girl she had once been while I was alone again, drowning myself in self-pity.

"Hey Jake." Charlie greeted me when I arrived to my house. He was waiting for my father. They were going to watch a game at Charlie's place. "Are you sure you don't want to come?"

"Thanks but I have things to do."

"I have a new plasma tv…you should come."

"Nah…Maybe some other time."

"Okay, kid. It's just that it's a waste to have such a huge tv set and watch the game alone."

"What about Sue?"

"She's not a sports fan."

I walked inside expecting to find my sister Rachel with Paul on our couch but there was only dad wheeling himself out.

"Your sister is out. She's spending the night at Kim's."

The imprints had some sort of a private club going on and without Emily who was still in Boston, Rachel was in charge. I didn't care much about it as long as Rachel stayed away from Paul.

"Jake?"

"What?"

"Are you listening to me?"

"Yes."

"There's food on the fridge."

"Okay."

"Will you be okay on your own?"

"Sure dad."

"See you tomorrow then."

When Charlie and dad left I prepared myself for a long night. In other circumstances I would take that opportunity to be with my best friends but I wasn't in the mood. Besides they were busy. Embry was patrolling with Jared and Quil was helping Seth studying for a test.

After a quick shower I sat down on the desk watching the amount of homework I had been neglecting. Somewhere between patrols and other pack duties, my homework had been completely forgotten and I had no doubts I would flunk this year.

I tried to concentrate on mathematics and geography but my brain kept wandering off to Leah's date night. Half an hour later I hadn't written one single word on the paper and I was feeling even more annoyed.

I went to the kitchen and prepared my meal.

_Kaynan is a nice guy. Or at least he was back then. We used to play together when we were vising Emily. He had a crush on Leah ever since the first time they met. _

Seth's description of Kaynan was unnerving. Collin, who besides a pack mate was also my cousin, had told me that his cousin Kaynan had broken up with his girlfriend recently after three years dating. I didn't like the sound of that but I couldn't tell anyone because they would think I was jealous.

I hoped Leah's date was a failure. Kaynan only knew the old Leah. He had no idea how she had changed. I was sure that he would say or do something stupid and Leah would never want to see him again. Besides, I knew she wasn't ready to start a long-term relationship.

I was about to start my meal when I heard someone knocking on my door. I was surprised to see Seth and Quil.

"I thought you were studying." I said.

"We were but Granddad called the Council. With Sue and Sam there we can't focus. Can we stay here?" Quil asked.

"Sure." I wasn't planning on going back to my homework anyways. Maybe we could do something that could distract me. I desperately needed that.

Quil still opened the History book on the page they should be working on but we ended up watching some really nice videos on YouTube.

"Did you see what that guy did with the skate? I wish I could do that." Seth exclaimed excitedly.

"Embry can do it. He can teach you." I told him.

"Too bad he isn't here." Seth shut up immediately. He probably remembered that Embry wasn't there with us because he had to cover Leah's shift.

"And whose fault is that?" Quil asked.

"Come on guys she needs a break."

"How the hell did you manage to convince her to go out with Collin's cousin?" Quil looked at Seth intensively.

"It wasn't that hard." Seth explained. "I told her to take a chance, live her life while she could and enjoy having the night off. Besides we know Kaynan, he used to play with us when we were kids. He's a nice guy."

"How do you know that? How long has it been since you've seen him?" I inquired.

"A few years…but he's nice."

"You think everyone is nice Seth." I told him.

"Kaynan might be the one for her. Since she phased no one looks at her. You guys treat her like she's invisible…except when she's naked. Her old friends…they don't talk to her anymore. She has no friends, only me and mum. It's not fair."

"She's mean to us. She torments us daily with thoughts about Embry's father. She's always complaining and she's a constant headache…and she's worse since Jake made her beta." Quil gave me a sharp look that I ignored. "I almost feel sorry for Kaynan." Quil added.

"So, in your opinion, my sister doesn't deserve to have a social life outside the pack." Seth got up and turned to Quil. "She's not that different from us. The big difference is that you have your imprint and she's all alone. The guy who looks at Leah like a real person, a real girl, and can make her happy will be the luckiest man on earth."

"Let's just stop this nonsense, shall we?" I asked. I didn't want to talk about Leah and Kaynan anymore.

"Do you have any idea of how she feels?" Seth insisted.

"Your sister is complicated Seth." I admitted. "You know that better than anyone. We all know she's not a bad person but she makes it hard for us to deal with her."

"That shit with Sam changed her. She can never be the same." Quil announced.

_She would, if she'd let me in. _I thought to myself.

"There are things you'll never understand Quil." Seth explained. "It's not just Sam or Emily…it's everything that followed."

"Like what?"

"My dad, her broken dreams for a future away from La Push, mum marrying Charlie, becoming friends with vampires, her condition…"

"What condition?"

"You know…she's a girl." Seth blushed. "She has no privacy, she won't imprint and… she won't even be able to…"

"To what?" Quil insisted.

"Have kids." I announced. Leah would be angry when she found out Quil knew about this, but I would explain it to her later and maybe she'd forgive me.

Quil was silent for a while. I didn't know if he'd believe me or not but at least he was thinking about it.

"Are you sure?" He finally asked.

"Leah told you that?" Seth questioned.

"She mentioned it when we argued the other day." I explained.

"So what?" Quil said. "She can always adopt. Beside I don't remember Leah mentioning she wanted to be a mother."

Seth glared at him.

"She wanted to have kids with Sam and now she'll never have a family of her own."

I cringed at the thought. Somehow the idea of Leah having a child with Sam was upsetting. It didn't seem natural.

"My sister deserves to be happy too, you know?" Seth added. Quil looked down and sighed.

"I know…"

"That's why I wanted her to move on…that's why I asked her to accept Kaynan's date."

"Well…I guess if you really think about it, you actually had a good idea." Quil smiled.

"You think so?"

"Sure. Leah will be easier to handle if she's happy and if Kaynan proves to be a good guy, he might tame the shewolf enough for us to have a quiet life."

I involuntarily rolled my eyes. I didn't believe Kaynan could tame Leah. Not in a million years.

"If this date ends well, we might get some luck." Seth said.

"Let's hope Kaynan can get some luck too."

"What the hell do you mean, Ateara?" Seth frowned.

"You know…I think your sister needs to get laid and…"

Seth tried to hit Quil but he moved out of the way. I felt suddenly nauseous. Why would Leah want to sleep with Kaynan? Especially on their first date.

"You know what Seth? We could try and help Kaynan." Quil suggested as Seth prepared to lounge at him again. "If she comes home happy enough to repeat the date, we could help Kaynan to win her heart. I mean we know her better than him."

"We won't help anyone." I stated.

"Come on Jake. It would be good for you too. Leah would be easier to handle, you're always saying she's a pain in the ass."

I didn't reply. I didn't want to help Kaynan to seducing my beta. Besides he was a stranger, an outsider, he didn't know we were wolves. I wanted him to go home to the Makah Reservation and never come back.

"So, will Kaynan be here long?" Quil turned to Seth, who apparently had agreed with Quil's plan.

"A couple of weeks, I think." Seth answered.

"What do you know about him?"

"He's the same age as Leah and went to Berkeley University for two years before his mother died and he was forced to go back home."

"Looks like he's intelligent, which is good because Leah hates dumb guys."

I rolled my eyes.

"Two years in the university doesn't make him Einstein." I blurted.

"Does he have a job?" Quil asked.

"Yes. In a water company."

"Family?"

"His dad and a younger sister, Kayla. I think she's twelve now."

"Seems like a good candidate. It looks like he's responsible so…we should help him out."

"My sister might get angry."

"It's for her own good."

"Why are you so damn interested in playing Cupid?" I asked Quil.

"Because it's fun and might get Leah off our case for a while."

"I'm sorry to break the news to you but Kaynan isn't a Quileute. He can't be Leah's boyfriend."

"Emily is Sam's girlfriend and she's also from the Makah Reservation." Quil recalled.

"Emily knows about us. Kaynan doesn't." I added. "Besides, she's not into a relationship right now."

"Don't ruin this Jake. We're just trying to help. Don't you want Leah to be happy?"

I did but not with Kaynan.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked.

"Maybe Kaynan is the one. I want my sister to have someone by her side."

"And how are you going to help Kaynan exactly?"

"We'll talk to him and make sure he doesn't say or do the wrong thing." Quil answered.

"Like breaking up with his girlfriend a week ago?" I pointed out. "Do you still think Kaynan's being honest? Because I think he's using Leah as a rebound."

The moment I said that Edward's words came into my mind. I was accusing Kaynan of using Leah when I had been doing the same.

"When Edward left and Bella came to you, you didn't seem bothered that she was using you as a rebound." Quil threw in my face. I couldn't argue with that.

"We're not talking about me. We're talking about Leah. She's old enough to take care of her love life alone. She doesn't need you two to mess that up."

"Mess what up? She doesn't have a love life since Sam dumped her. And by the looks of it, you don't want her to have any." Quil accused.

"You're not jealous, are you?" Seth asked suddenly. I froze. Was it that obvious? Was I really jealous because she had a date?

"No! Why would I? If she wants to go out with some random guy I don't care." I stated.

Quil and Seth looked at me as if I had two heads.

"I'm not saying you're jealous because she's going out with Kaynan, I'm saying you're jealous because she's moving on and you're not."

"Oh…right. Well…like I said I'm cool with that, I just don't want her to get hurt again."

"You're not falling for her, are you?" Quil asked with a mischievous look.

"Of course not!" I yelled at him.

"Easy there Jake, I was joking. We all know you can't stand her."

Seth didn't laugh with Quil this time.

"Look, I'm starving. Let's order some pizza."

At the mention of food, Seth and Quil raced towards the phone to order our dinner. While they waited outside for the pizza guy, I tried to imagine how Leah's date was working out. I didn't know where they'd gone to. Maybe Kaynan had taken her to a restaurant in Forks. Ever since she was a wolf, Leah shared our appetite so I hoped Kaynan didn't have enough money to pay the bill. That way their date would certainly be a failure. Who'd want a girlfriend who could wipe out his wallet clean on the first date? Who'd want a boyfriend who couldn't afford a dinner?

Or maybe he'd taken her to Port Angeles to a night club where they could dance all night. Back when she dated Sam, Leah used to sneak out every once and a while to go to night clubs or the movies.

Seth and I had tagged along once to watch Star Wars. Leah didn't like the movie but Sam was a real fan. Back then Leah liked comedies and dramas now she was more of a horror fan. She had the entire Saw collection and she hated romance. Kaynan didn't know that, so if they got to go to the movies, he would probably suggest a romance movie and she'd hate him for that. Or so I hoped.

"Earth calls Jake!" Quil snapped his fingers in front of my face. "You spaced out man…"

"Dinner is here!" Seth exclaimed happily.

"Right…I'll get something to drink."

I was in the kitchen while Quil took the pizzas to the small living room. Seth followed me.

"Hey Jake? Quil said you can't stand Leah. Is it true?"

"No…it's not like that."

"So, you like her, right?"

I didn't know what to tell him. I didn't even understand what I was feeling about Leah.

"Would you let her go?" Seth asked.

"Let her go? Like what?"

"If Kaynan proves to be right for her, would you let her leave La Push with him?"

"I care about her…" I admitted. "And I want her to be happy again but…I don't know if that's a good idea since Irina is still around."

"You've been spending time with my sister, Jacob. Don't get too attached, okay? She doesn't like to have someone telling her what to do and how to live her life. If she asks you to let her go, just let her go."

It was a simple request but I didn't want to do it.

"If she asks me to let her go…I'll do the right thing." Deep inside I knew I was lying.

Seth nodded.

"It would be nice for her to leave. That way she'd be able to forget about Sam and Emily and she wouldn't have to see all the imprinted couples getting married…because let's face it Jake, we'll all have imprints one day and she'll be forced to see us all happy and smiling and she won't take it."

"I see…"

Seth was right. Leah couldn't stand the imprinted couples. In her opinion, imprinting wasn't real love, it was just a magic trick. I agreed, of course, but there was a chance I'd be sucked into that mess one day. That was why I should not get close to Leah. I didn't want to have feelings for someone and end up tied to another girl because of a magic trick.

"Hey Jake, we're eating the pizza without you." Quil called me.

"I'll be right there."

As we ate watching the F1 final race in Japan, I kept zoning out, thinking about all the things that had happened lately. Bella had been out of my mind since her wedding. Sometimes I would still remember the times we used to spend together, but those memories were often pushed aside by new memories of Leah and I since the day I had asked her to be my beta.

I didn't know what that meant but it was scaring. I wasn't ready to fall in love again. Leah was out of my league for so many reasons. I shouldn't even waste my time thinking about her.

It was after eleven o'clock when I realised Seth was snoring next to me. Quil was still watching TV though.

"Should I take you two home?" I asked him.

"I can go on my own."

"What about him?" I watched Seth.

"Maybe you should let him stay here."

"Leah will be worried about him, if he's not home."

"She'll be thankful."

I raised my eyebrows.

"Besides I don't think Seth wants to ruin Leah's chances of getting laid tonight. It's better if she has the house to herself. This way Seth won't ruin anything and he won't be traumatized for life. I've heard Leah's a screamer…" Quil added.

I didn't want to imagine what Leah and Kaynan could be doing all alone at the Clearwater's empty house.

"I'll be here in the morning to patrol with Seth." Quil said leaving.

"Fine."

I spent the next half an hour cleaning the living room while Seth snored on my couch. I was about to go to bed when I heard his cell phone vibrating and Leah's name appeared on the screen.

I knew I wasn't supposed to check on other people's phones but maybe Leah was worried about her brother. I read the text message: "Come home NOW!"

Without a second thought I left home and drove all the way to Leah's house. I had no idea what was going on but it looked like it was serious. Maybe she needed help with something. Maybe she had accidentally killed Kaynan.

I knocked on the door and Leah opened it immediately. She looked stressed about something but she regained her composure when she saw me.

"Jacob? Where's my brother?"

"He fell asleep on my couch."

"Damn it…" She cursed.

"What's going on? Are you okay?"

She looked over her shoulder and sighed deeply.

"I guess you'll have to do." She pulled me inside and told me to follow her. I noticed she was wearing a honey-coloured dress above her knee with a fair cleavage. Any man who would make Leah dress up like this for him was the luckiest bastard on Earth. She was beyond beautiful. Shit...I should never think of Leah this way. I mentally kicked myself.

"So, your date…I guess it went well."

"Sort of. He's nice when he's quiet…So things were fine in the restaurant but…"

I was happy there was a "but". It probably meant Kaynan had screwed his chances.

"Why are we going to the kitchen? Do you need a plumber?"

"No…I need you to see if he's dead." She pointed to a man on the kitchen floor.

"What the hell!" I pushed her out of the way and kneeled down beside the guy lying on the floor. He was unconscious and bleeding. "What did you do Leah?"

"It was his fault. He came at me. Tried to kiss me…I didn't react very well." She lowered her eyes.

"So you beat the crap out of him?"

"I hit him once." She defended herself. "I just…I forgot he's just a human."

"Bring me a towel. We need to stop the bleeding."

"Is he dead?"

"No."

"Good…I really didn't want to go to jail for this."

"How long is he unconscious?"

"Five minutes…more or less."

"Will he be okay?"

"How the hell should I know Leah? I don't even know how hard you hit him."

I pressed the towel Leah gave me into Kaynan's forehead while she tried to clean the floor.

"Look I didn't ask you to come. The text message was for my brother."

"Stop being an idiot Leah. That's why you're always getting into trouble."

"So I'm in trouble for stopping douchebag here from kissing me?"

"You knocked him out cold! Of course you're in trouble."

"I should let him kiss me then. Is that what you're saying?"

"I never said that."

"But you thought."

"No, I didn't. I just…I thought you two would get along just fine."

"We did…until the third glass of wine."

"Wine? So…did he take you to a fancy restaurant?"

"None of your business, Black."

"If you like him, why did you hit him?"

"I told you…he tried to kiss me."

"And what's wrong with that? You were on a date and when you're on a date you're supposed to kiss him and do other stuff."

"I thought about it, you know… Kaynan isn't half as bad as the morons that live here and asked me out on dates."

"What guys? You haven't dated since Sam."

"That doesn't mean guys stopped asking me out."

I rolled my eyes.

"So why didn't you kiss him back? If he's not so bad…"

"Because if I did I know what would happen. We'd end up sleeping together and things would turn out a mess. Kaynan won't imprint on another girl and with him I can pretend I am normal, I can have a normal relationship, we can have fun for a while…after all that's what guys want from me anyways. And that was it. That's all I am now. A good fuck…so I guess I just didn't want to be that kind of girl."

"Come on Leah don't…"

"I don't need your pity, Black. I'm only stating the facts."

After a moment of silence, Leah decided it was time to do something.

"Should we take him to the Hospital?"

"If you want to tell them you attacked Kaynan…go ahead."

"What's your idea?"

"Let's take him to Carlisle."

Leah hesitated. She didn't like or trust the Cullens much.

"He's a human. They might…attack him."

"Carlisle is a doctor for ages now. He never attacked a human."

"Yeah but the blonde one did. Alice's husband…he attacked Bella once, right?"

"That was a long time ago. Besides we'll be there."

"Fine. Let's go then."

Leah was quiet all the way over to the Cullens. Bella was the first to come out and greet us. She looked from me to Leah several times when she noticed we had an unconscious guy in the back of my car.

"What happened? Who is he?"

"A small accident." I tried. "Can you call Carlisle?"

"Sure. Bring him inside."

Carlisle ordered us to put Kaynan in one of the guest's room and watched him carefully while we waited outside. Then Esme arrived with brownies in a tray which I devoured alone since Leah didn't accept their food because she was too damn stubborn.

A few minutes later Carlisle called us inside the room. All the other Cullens followed us. They were curious about the human we had brought.

"He's fine. I don't think there will be permanent damages though he hit his head really hard. There's a mild trauma and some blood loss but he'll be fine after a while."

"Great." Leah sighed in relief.

"Can I ask what happened?" The doctor questioned.

"Sure." Leah replied but then she remained in silence.

"So?" Bella insisted.

"I said he could ask, not that I'd answer."

Typical Leah.

"Kaynan…fell…" It wasn't completely a lie. He had fallen after being hit by Leah.

"What a clumsy idiot." Edward laughed and Leah glared at him.

"Can we take him home?" I asked.

"Let's wait a little longer." Carlisle suggested.

"Who is he? I never saw him before." Bella said.

"He's just a friend." I informed. I didn't want to tell all the details to the vampires.

"He's not from La Push, is he?"

"He's from the Makah Reservation. He's Collin's cousin."

"But Collin's your cousin."

"Yes, because Aunt Connie is my dad's sister. Kaynan is Collin's father second cousin so I'm not related to him."

"Well it's been fun but I have to go. I need to take Emmett's place patrolling. See you around guys." Alice waved at us and left and a few seconds later Emmett was strolling inside, whistling some annoying song he had picked up somewhere.

"Well I didn't know we had company."

"Good Lord, Emmett…you smell like wet dog. Please go take a shower." The Blondie said.

"Why are Alpha boy and the shewolf here?" Emmett ignored his wife's plea. "Whoa…that dress looks awesome on you. I'm speechless."

"Emmett!" Rosalie yelled at her husband.

"What babe? I'm just saying…" Emmett winked. "I'm sure Jacob prefers you naked but that dress is definitely a winner."

I started growling without even noticing. Jasper flew over to my side but I didn't let him come closer.

"Calm down Jacob." Jasper said in a calm voice.

"Easy Alpha boy. I'm not hitting on your girl…I'm just having some fun. So what's the occasion?"

"It was just a stupid date, alright?" I blurted out.

"Fucking finally kid. It was about time. I was starting to wonder. So…tell me how far did you go with her? I can give you a few tips since your father is out of the game for quite a while, right? You need a manly figure."

I felt my face heating up so much that I could hardly speak. Emmett had thought I was Leah's date.

"Girls like the shewolf like it rough. You need to show her who's the boss. I learned a few things when Rose and I went to a marital therapist. After a few decades, sex can be bored but I don't think you and the shewolf need to worry about that for now."

"Shut the hell up mongrel!" Leah yelled at him. Surprisingly, her face was as red as mine.

"I wasn't her date." I told Emmett. "He was."

Emmett's eyes followed my finger and he raised his eyebrows watching Kaynan on the bed who was about to wake up.

"Seriously?" Emmett asked. "You went out with a human?"

Leah didn't answer.

"Go have a shower." Rosalie ordered.

"Only if you come too." He smiled mischievously.

"We better go. He's waking up." Carlisle suggested. Leah was the first one to leave the room.

"You should talk to him for a few minutes to explain what he's doing here. He'll be confused at first so Jasper will be outside."

I couldn't believe Leah had abandoned me and I'd have to explain things to Kaynan.

"You owe me Clearwater!" I stated.

"You came to my house on your own, Black." She retorted from downstairs. "Besides, you're the alpha."

After Carlisle closed the door, Kaynan opened his eyes and tried to sit down.

"What's this place?" He asked.

"You're at my friends' house." I had no idea what I should tell him. "Do you remember who I am?"

Kaynan looked at me carefully for a while and then nodded his head negatively.

"I'm Collin's cousin, Connie's nephew."

"Oh…right. You're Billy Black's son, right?"

I nodded.

"Yes, I'm Jacob."

"I remember vaguely. You have twin sisters…"

"Yes."

"It's been years…You were a little kid when I last saw you."

Kaynan and I had seen each other once or twice when I was a kid. I think the last time I'd seen him was during my mother's funeral.

"You grew up…a lot." He added. "And so did Collin."

"We have good genes." I told him. I wanted to get out of that situation as soon as possible. "Do you remember what happened?"

"Not really… I'm a little confused."

What should I tell him? Should I lie? Should I tell him some story about him falling down and hitting his head? Or should I tell the truth? All I wanted was a clean way out.

Kaynan touched the bandage around his forehead and finally sat down.

"I'm sorry for hitting you so hard." I told him. I had decided to take the blame for that incident. Leah would be out of trouble and Kaynan would probably think twice now about dating her. "I attacked you at the Clearwater's house."

"Oh…I see…I remember I had a date with Leah."

"Yeah…you took her home and then I hit you."

"You're together, right? That's why you attacked me…"

I could've said no but I didn't. I wanted Kaynan to believe Leah and I were together so he could disappear.

"Some of your memories are blocked but my friend is a doctor and he told me you're fine. I'm really sorry for acting like a jerk."

"It's fine…Leah should've told me she was going out with someone."

"Leah isn't exactly my…girlfriend…but we…"

"It's okay. I should've known she wasn't available. She so gorgeous…actually she's perfect."

Leah had hit him too hard because no one in his clear state of mind would think Leah Clearwater was perfect.

"And again your thoughts are conflicting with your heart." Edward said coming inside.

"Leave me alone Edward." I growled.

"Are you the doctor?" Kaynan asked.

"No. My father is the doctor. I was just here when Jacob brought you. If you feel any pain in the next couple of days you can call us and my father will prescribe you some medication, alright?"

"Thanks."

"Can we take him home now?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Finally."

Kaynan had to be dragged out of the Cullens' house. Everything about the vampires was alluring and he was hypnotised by Esme and Bella's beauty. He didn't speak to Leah during our ride back home. I decided to take him over to Aunt Connie's house and then I'd take Leah home.

"You're actually lucky." Kaynan said when I was escorting him to my Aunt's porch. Leah had stayed in the car. She was listening to the radio but she didn't like any song that was playing. "Leah's awesome."

"Yeah…" I didn't know what else to say to that.

"You look good together."

I almost chocked. He was really convinced Leah and I were together.

"I'm not sure it will last."

"Are you kidding? The way you two look at each other is so obvious."

I had no idea what he meant by that.

"So are you sure you don't want me to call Collin or my aunt?"

"I can go inside on my own thanks."

"Okay. I'm sorry for all the mess."

"Go to her and make up already." He suggested. Kaynan shook my hand and reached his back pocket. "Take this. I won't use it after all."

He handed me a small pack and went inside. Once again I froze when I realised what it was. Kaynan had just given me a pack of condoms. Could this night get even more awkward?

"What's wrong Black?" Leah asked when I joined her in the car again, trying to hide the condoms on my pocket. "What's that?"

"Nothing."

"Did he say anything to you?"

"No." I lied. I couldn't tell her what Kaynan had told me. I couldn't tell her he suggested I should use those condoms with her.

I squeezed the wheel to stop myself from thinking about Leah and I alone in her house.

"You're acting weird. Are you feeling sick?" Leah asked.

"I'm fine!"

"Well you don't look fine."

Leah put her hand on my forehead and I felt an electric charge run through my body. I froze on my seat for a couple of minutes not knowing what was happening. All I knew was that if I touched her, I would probably combust.

Noticing I was acting weird, Leah pulled back her hand.

"I was just trying to help, you know?"

Our eyes met for a brief instant and then my eyes flew to her cleavage and her bare legs. I could easily kiss her and tear that dress apart. I realised I wanted to do what Kaynan had suggested but I was too scared to act.

"Just be quiet, alright? I think you did enough already for tonight."

It sounded a bit cold but I couldn't let Leah know I was a nervous wreck in that moment just because I was near her.

"I didn't ask for your help. I called my brother, remember?"

"I'm your alpha. I have responsibilities. Anything you do reflect on the pack."

"I'm not your fucking responsibility Black!" She yelled back at me. Why did things with her always end like this?

"Look, you're our beta. I just want you to act like it. Things could've ended badly for us tonight. If Kaynan found out what we are…can you imagine the things we'd have to deal with?"

"How the hell could I've known what was about to happen? I can't read minds and I can't see the future!"

"If you didn't want to go out with him you should've said so!"

"I wanted to go out with him!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"So I suppose you had lots of fun together, huh?"

"What?"

"Come on, Leah…I know you better than you think. You don't want or need Kaynan…You only wanted to know if you're finally over Sam."

"Shut up. Who the fuck do you think you are? I'm way over Sam! I'm not the one stuck on my ex-girlfriend who happened to be a walking corpse."

"I'm not stuck on Bella!"

"Sure. Keep telling yourself that."

"I don't even spend time with her anymore. Actually I've been spending more time with you…"

"Whatever…"

"It's impossible to have a decent conversation with you." I complained.

"Kaynan didn't think so."

"So that means you'll go out with him again?"

"After what happened? I don't think so."

"But he doesn't remember." I recalled. "If he asks you out again…will you go?"

"No. Why are you so interested anyway?"

"I'm not interested." I lied.

Leah remained in silence while I drove towards her house. When I stopped the car, she didn't move.

"I thought I was ready." She confessed. She closed her eyes to stop the tears from coming.

"It will take a while." I told her. "But one day, you'll be ready. You just need to have some patience."

"How will I know?"

"When you wake up in the morning and he won't be on your mind. When you finally see he was not the one for you and that your happiness doesn't depend on him anymore. When you wake up and realize you're not ready to give up, that you want to fight back and when your heart tells you there's another person you want more."

Leah looked at me surprised.

"You talk like you know what it feels like."

I smiled. I did know what it felt like. I hadn't noticed until today but Bella was out of my mind. I used to wake up thinking about her, about our moments together, about a future with her by my side.

But Bella was gone. And Leah was here. I wasn't supposed to feel that way about her but I did and even though it was scary, it was also a good feeling.

"Don't get used to this…but thank you for helping me tonight." Leah told me and opened the Rabbit's door.

"You're welcome. And you owe me."

She laughed.

"Sure, sure…"

"You can cook my breakfast tomorrow." I suggested.

"Keep dreaming, Black."

As soon as she got inside I typed a message and send it.

_Am I in love with Leah Clearwater? _I asked him.

He answered back almost immediately.

_Took you long enough to notice, huh?_ _You're back in the game, Jacob. Signed: Edward _

**To be continued...**

* * *

Teamtorettosupporter, Blackwater Crazziii, Cracker679, Firefly-class, brankel1, TheSkeptic88, Jeakat, Tara Maria and Quenn Leti, thank you so much for reviewing.

Karisan


	4. Ep 4 - One step forward

Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer not me.

Author/Note 1: This one-shot follows what happens between chapters 8 and 12 of _Our Dawn 2_. For the ones who don't remember what happened in these chapters: after Sue and Charlie's wedding, she left to live in Forks leaving the house to Leah and Seth. Later on Leah agrees to have three young wolves living with them because Emily returns from Boston after her surgery and Sam doesn't have enough room for them at his place. At school Shane and Martin start a fight and almost reveal the pack's secret. Leah also begins to tutor Jacob since he's been neglecting his studies now that he's the pack's alpha. Despite all the arguments, Leah tries to help Jacob because when she's with him she manages to forget about the upcoming wedding of her ex-boyfriend and her cousin. Bella and Alice choose Leah's bridesmaid dress but she tosses it to the trash when Sam asks her to miss his wedding. On the day of the wedding Jacob manages to convince Leah to go so she can have her closure. They have a dance and then Leah leaves to the cliffs needing some time alone. Jacob finds her at nightfall and takes her home.

A/Note 2: I'm not a native English speaker so I'm sorry for my grammar and spelling. Thank you for reading.

_**Our Dawn Series Specials**_

_**Episode Four – One Step Forward**_

_**Jacob Black**_

I had never felt so nervous in my life. My hands were shaking, my eyesight was foggy, I was sweating and my knees were dancing. I didn't know how I had gotten in that church but apparently I was supposed to be there.

On my left side I saw Embry smiling at me and right in front of me an old man dressed like a priest was checking his watch.

"She is late." He said in a whisper.

"When you find a bride that'll arrive at her wedding on time, you'll be witnessing a miracle father." Embry joked. "Don't be so nervous Jake. She'll be here." He added.

My heart pounded and my head started spinning.

"What exactly am I doing here Embry?" I finally gathered the courage to ask.

"I thought you said you didn't drink last night." Sue sounded angry. She was wearing a dark purple dress and looked much younger. Charlie Swan was on the first row with old Quil and my father.

I finally realised all of my family and friends were there.

"He had a few drinks but nothing much." Embry tried to explain. "He's just nervous…It's his wedding day after all."

"Wedding day?" I staggered. It was my wedding day. That's why I was so nervous. Now I understood. Wait what? Wedding?

"Come on Jake…you didn't drink that much. Did you smoke that crap Paul gave you?" Embry asked me in a whisper.

"I don't remember…" I stated. It was true. I didn't remember anything.

What the hell was going on? I didn't even remember having a girlfriend, much less a fiancé. I couldn't be getting married. And who was I marrying?

I observed the church and saw Sam and Emily at the back. That was weird because Sam was my friend and he and Emily should be with Quil, Paul, Jared, Brady and Collin on the front row. Sam didn't even look happy for me.

"I never thought I'd see this day coming. I never thought Jake would actually marry her." Jared was saying. Quil laughed and turned back to check on his imprint. Claire was one of the flower girls and was waiting by the door with the other children.

"I bet she's pregnant." Paul smiled wickedly. "Why would he propose to her after six months if he didn't knock her up?"

"No, she's not pregnant, you idiot!" Rachel elbowed Paul on the ribs and he faked it had hurt. "She makes my little brother happy. That's all that matters. Besides, I've heard Leah can't have children."

Leah? Did I hear it correctly? I couldn't be marrying Leah Clearwater, could I? How the hell did this happen? I would remember if we had been dating for six months, right? Or did I really drink that much last night? Maybe she really was pregnant. What a mess!

"As your best man, I advise you to relax." Embry said. "You don't want to phase in the church on your wedding day. Plus, Sue would kill both of us for ruining her daughter's big day."

Relax? I had just find out I was marrying Leah Clearwater! And maybe she was pregnant with my child. Why would I be marrying her if I hadn't knocked her up?

"Embry…" I sounded like a scared little girl. "What the hell am I doing? How the hell did this happen? I can't remember anything."

"You're not scared now, are you?" Embry asked seriously. "Because if I were you I'd be terrified." He laughed in my face. "I told you Leah would be your downfall."

"You're not helping." I complained.

"Calm down Jake, last night you said she's worth every headache and every fight you had in the past and will have in the future. You said she's the one so get a grip and relax. In a few minutes it'll be over."

I didn't know what to do. All eyes on that church were on me. Probably wondering if I was going to bail out. I did scan the room for an emergency exit but I had to pass through Sue and Charlie to get there and that wouldn't be wise. As I tried to come up with another idea, the music started and the doors opened revealing Seth Clearwater dressed in a black suit, just like mine, and the most beautiful woman I had ever seen dressed in a silver wedding gown.

And in that moment I didn't want to leave anymore. I wanted to marry Leah and that thought made my heart jump. Watching her coming closer, surrounded by children throwing rose petals, with a veil covering her face, I felt incredibly lucky. Actually since the moment I had put my eyes on her, I knew I was the luckiest man on earth.

I had no idea how she was able to afford that dress but it was worth every penny. It was a plain piece of silver fabric with no sleeves and a tight corset. It fit her perfectly and showed all the curves a woman's body should have.

I felt the urge to cover her up with my jacket because even though the dress was long and covered her legs entirely, it revealed too much of her back and chest. She was for my eyes only. I didn't want any other man drooling over my woman.

_My woman. _That sounded so right but how could it be real? All of a sudden I was about to get married… I was about to exchange vows with someone… I should be afraid, I should be nervous, I should be running away, but I just stood there waiting for her. Why couldn't I move?

_Because I was in love with her_. It was the only explanation. I loved Leah and I wanted to be her husband.

When Seth handed her over to me, I removed her veil and met her gorgeous brown eyes and her happy smile. I never thought I would see Leah smiling like that ever again. She was glowing and I felt dizzy. Why didn't I realise I was in love with her sooner?

"Step forward Leah Clearwater and Jacob Black." The priest said.

I was so hypnotised by Leah that I didn't move. I just wanted to get lost in those eyes. Because those eyes were telling me that she loved me too.

"Jake…you've been staring at me for like five minutes." Leah whispered and I finally came back to reality. I felt myself blush slightly. "The priest is calling us."

Taking my hand in hers, Leah pulled me and we stood in front of the old man who began to read from an even older book. The cover was practically falling off but the man kept reading, not aware that half of the book was disintegrating itself. He read and read, and read even more. And the minutes passed and I didn't hear a single word he was saying. My eyes were glued on Leah and it was good to feel her hand in mine.

_I'm getting married to Leah Clearwater. Is this real? _I thought while the priest was reading another text from the Bible.

I wanted this to be real so bad. Leah was a pain in the ass, she had the worst temper a girl could have, but she was the one for me and I could see that now. I had been a fool and I had made a fool of myself going after Bella when Leah had been there all along. She was far from being perfect but I realised I loved everything about her: strength and vulnerability, sarcasm and kindness, stubbornness and humbleness. She was everything, she completed me.

"Do you Leah Clearwater take Jacob Black to be your lawful wedded husband, to live in the holy estate of matrimony, to love, honour, comfort, and cherish him from this day forward, forsaking all others, keeping only unto him for as long as you both shall live?"

This was it. It was time to see if this was just someone's sick joke or not. Deep inside I had the feeling someone would jump to the aisle holding a secret camera to humiliate me until the end of time. But the seconds passed and Leah got to answer the question quietly with a smile on her lips.

"I do." She said firmly.

Then the priest turned to me.

"Do you Jacob Black take Leah Clearwater to be your lawful wedded wife, to live in the holy estate of matrimony, to love, honour, comfort, and cherish her from this day forward, forsaking all others, keeping only unto her for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do."

"Now Leah repeat after me." The priest said.

Sue handed Leah a wedding ring and as she waited to put it in my finger she repeated the words the priest was saying.

"I Leah Clearwater take you Jacob Black to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, 'til death do us apart."

I took a second to watch the golden ring Leah had placed on my finger and then realised I didn't have any ring for her. My heart sunk. I was about to make a fool of myself.

Thankfully Embry saved the day. He quietly handed me over a golden wedding ring matching mine so I could repeat after the priest like Leah had done previously.

"I Jacob Black take you Leah Clearwater to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, 'til death do us apart."

I said those words easily, my heart filled with something I didn't feel in a long time: love and care. I loved and cared for Leah deeply.

"You may kiss the bride." The priest announced.

I had been waiting for that moment.

Placing my right hand on her face I looked into Leah's eyes one more time and locked our lips for a long kiss. She tasted so sweet I didn't want that moment to end.

"I hope you meant everything you said when you proposed, Mr. Black." She said when we broke apart. We were pretty much breathless. "Because I promised your father he'd have a grandchild by the end of this winter."

I swear I could feel myself blushing so hard I was probably combusting. The thought of Leah having my children made me wish we could start practicing right away. We were married now, so we could do whatever we wanted in our honeymoon.

I was going to give her the best night of her life.

"Jake!" I heard Embry's voice behind me. "Wake up man! Martin and Shane are fighting outside. Leah needs your help!"

I opened my eyes slowly. I was supposed to be at my wedding but when I opened my eyes I was at school. All of my classmates were near the window, watching something or someone outside. Embry and Quil were looking suspiciously at me.

"Wake up man. You need to do something before those idiots phase right in front of everyone." Quil said. "Were you having a dream?"

"What's happening?" I checked my finger and noticed there was no wedding ring, I wasn't wearing a suit and Leah wasn't standing beside me in a glorious wedding dress that I wanted to rip from her body tonight.

Sadly, I realised it had all been just a dream. A dream I kept having ever since Leah had that stupid date with Collin's cousin.

I couldn't believe I had dreamed about getting married to Leah Clearwater again.

"Shit…I must be crazy."

"Jake!" Embry called again. "Step out of dreamland man. Go help Leah."

"I've heard you the first time. I'm going…just make sure everybody else stays here, including Mr. Crowley." I glanced over our teacher who was trying to put some order in the classroom.

"Okay. We got your back, now go before those two destroy the school and reveal our secret."

"Stupid kids!" I growled. I would teach them not to mess with my dreams.

xxxxxxxxxx

I was trying my best to control my temper but I was losing the battle miserably. After the first lesson with Leah I realised two things: the first one was that I was going to fail the year anyway, the second one was that it was all Edward Cullen's fault.

"Tell me again why you barged into my house." He asked picking up a few pieces of his bedroom door that I had just destroyed.

"Because you're a fucking idiot!"

"I'm sure that's not the reason why you're here. I'm picking up something about Leah and… red laced underwear?"

I probably blushed. Accepting to have lessons with Leah hadn't been my brightest idea, especially now that I was suffering from some sort of mental disease that led me to believe I was in love with her.

And that was driving me crazy. I couldn't focus on anything else but her. And Edward was the one to blame.

"I didn't put any funny thoughts in your head, they were there already." Edward stated after reading my mind. I hated when he did that. Too many people could read my mind and I hated it.

"You did this leech. You want me to believe I'm in love with Leah because you want Bella all to yourself." I saw him rolling his eyes.

"Bella and I got married. I have nothing to fear." He grinned. "I would tell you to get over it but you already did. You just don't want to accept it."

"You messed with my head!"

"I warned you in the first place. I told you to keep your distance from her. I saw it coming way before you did and I tried to warn you but you didn't listen to me. You never listen to anything I say."

I hated the way Edward thought he was always right.

"I'm not always right, but on this subject I'm pretty much sure I am." I rolled my eyes at him. "You told me once that you can't choose who you love. Remember?" He asked me.

"Yeah, I remember but I never said anything about being in love with Leah."

"You don't have to say it. It's so obvious even a blind person would see it too. Jasper picked up your emotions recently and…"

"I don't love her! And tell Private Ryan to stop analysing my emotions!" I yelled at him. I guess I was trying to convince myself more than I was trying to convince him that I didn't feel attracted to Leah.

Edward crossed his arms, apparently amused by my little rant.

"You two are so much alike." He stated. "Leah is very stubborn too."

As if I didn't know that already.

"I love her like a sister." I tried.

"Really? Do you dream about sleeping with your sister every night?"

I was going to rip his fucking head off.

"Don't be an idiot Jacob. You know you don't feel about Leah the same way you feel about Rachel."

"That's because she walks around practically naked all the time and I'm a teenager. I have… hormones."

"Right…Whatever. You keep telling yourself that." He said. "So what do you want me to do?" He added.

"Just stop interfering in my life. Haven't you done enough?"

"I didn't make you feel this way about her. That's all you Jacob."

"I'm not in love with her!" I repeated.

"You keep saying that because you're in denial. Repeating it won't change anything."

"I'm not in denial."

"How many nights have you dreamed about marrying her? Sleeping with her? Or even having children with her? What was the little girl's name? Sarah?"

I froze. Edward and his stupid power. He knew about _that_ dream. During our first lesson, Leah had made me read ten pages of my History book to write down an essay about some stupid battle fought during the Civil War. I had fallen asleep after the third page. Everything about History was boring.

I fell asleep and had a dream. I was at First Beach playing football in the sand with three oddly familiar kids. Three boys of ages around 12, 10 and 8. All of them had dark hair and chocolate brown eyes like me. I chased the youngest one to get the ball but he caught it with his hands and ran away laughing while the other two complained about him cheating. Leah was sitting down on the sand a few feet away from us. I still remembered her words: _'Jake, bring the boys, lunch is ready.'_

I realised then those were my children. Leah and I had three boys together. How could they not be mine? The three of them looked exactly like me, except for their nose. They had Leah's nose. I walked towards Leah and sat down with her leaving the boys fighting and rolling in the sand. She had a baby girl on her arms. _'You want to feed Sarah?'_ Leah asked me and then gave me our daughter. Leah had named her after my mother who died when I was a kid. Mum had always loved Leah and Seth as her own children. _'She looks so much like you Jake.'_ She whispered. _'They all do. I really hope this one will look like me though.'_ Leah's hands rested on her belly where I could see a baby bump. It looked like she was three months pregnant, maybe four. I couldn't tell for sure but I was happier than ever.

Holding Sarah with one hand I reached out and put my other hand on Leah's belly. My baby was growing inside her and I never felt more proud. Secretly I hoped he looked like me, exactly like the others.

That time it was Leah who interrupted my dream, yelling at me, telling me I should concentrate and study otherwise I'd end up ignorant and stupid like the rest of the pack. I had no courage to face her after having that dream about her. I could still remember the warm sensation of my hand on her pregnant belly. So I just packed my stuff and ran away. I couldn't let her know about these dreams. And now here I was being lecture by the mind rapist.

"I guess you should've kept reading not dreaming." Edward mocked. "Look, I think you realised she means more to you than you expected. I know it might be odd and difficult. That's Leah's middle name after all, I just don't understand what you're afraid of."

"Afraid? Why would I be afraid? I just think I'm in love with La Push's resident harpy who just happens to be Sam Uley's ex-girlfriend and Seth's sister. And even if I gather some courage and tell her what I feel, she will never love me back. She's still in love with that creep and she will never love another wolf because she's too scared of the imprint. I'll be rejected like before…So I guess there's nothing to be afraid of." I said with a hint of sarcasm.

I put my schoolbag on the floor and sat down on the couch, resting my head back and closing my eyes. I was mentally tired of these mind games. Ever since the night with Kaynan, I had my thoughts all messed up and I hadn't been able to have a good night sleep.

"I know you have doubts but even though your thoughts can be considered a porn show a few times, I know it's not only lust." He hesitated for a few seconds. "You dream about having kids with her for crying out loud! Just take a chance. Man up and play the game!"

xxxxxxxxxx

_Play the game._ Those had been Edward's words but how could I play a game I knew I was going to lose? Shouldn't I be more focused on avoiding another train wreck in my life? How many times would I have to be rejected to learn the lesson properly?

Things between Leah and I would never work no matter what my feelings were. I was pretty sure I was falling for her. I had been aware of that for a while now. I did try to convince myself otherwise but it was useless.

I tried to act normally around her, I tried to think about her like before, I even tried medication to help me fall asleep and stop dreaming about her, but nothing worked. There was something special about Leah. And I knew it was both right and wrong.

I tried my best to ignore my feelings because honestly I didn't think I was ready to love again. And it never crossed my mind I would actually have feelings for Leah Clearwater. After Bella I always thought it would take a few years for me to get close to someone, to feel the flutter in my stomach like I used to feel whenever Bella came to see me.

The first couple of weeks after I realised I was falling for my beta, I was in shock. After all, Bella's memories were still fresh on my mind, she'd only been married for a few months, and her rejection still kept me awake at night. That's why when the mind rapist told me to accept those feelings, I did the opposite and tried to deny them.

For a while, I thought I could succeed. For a while I managed to conceal my thoughts from everyone and deny my feelings. But now I knew I had been living an illusion. The moment we danced together on Sam's wedding reception I knew I had lost that fight.

My heart beat like a drum, all I could think about was her, and again I imagined how it would be like to hold her forever, to spend life together with her, to marry her and have a child with her. Or maybe two boys and a girl named Sarah. Though fatherhood was the last thing on my mind right now, I wouldn't mind to have a big family. I despised the idea of Rachel having children with Paul and my other sister, Becca was having fertility problems, at least that was what I had heard Rachel tell Kim. So it was up to me to get my dad decent grandchildren because Paul's offspring wouldn't count.

Only there were too many variables in this equation such as _imprinting_. The magic bond that ruled a wolf's whole life. A bond that could bring extreme happiness and at the same time the deepest of sorrows. To have an imprint was magical, wonderful, blissful. At least that was my imprinted friends' opinion. There were four wolves who had imprinted so far. I had experienced their happiness first hand through the mind link and it was breathtaking but it was also suffocating.

Not to mention unfair and cruel. There was a time all I wanted was to imprint on some girl. I just wanted to forget about Bella and the rejection she had inflicted me so I thought it would be nice to have a soul mate chosen by destiny to stay with me forever. I didn't care I'd lose my will power, I didn't care I was going to have an eternal bond with someone I did not know, all I wanted was for the pain to go away. It was an easy way out.

However if I imprinted, it wouldn't be real love. So now I didn't want to imprint anymore. I realised if I imprinted I'd forget about my real feelings. My life would be ruled by the old magic, I would lose myself in the process and I didn't want that. I wanted to control my life as I pleased and right now, as I led Leah through the dance floor, moving in a slow rhythm, as close and we could be, all I wanted was her. To mend her heart, to tell her the same words written on that song's lyrics: _'Cause I'll stand beside you through the years, You'll only cry those happy tears, And though I'll make mistakes I'll never break your heart._

I would never break her heart like Sam did. I would never leave her and I would never choose another girl. Leah deserved better than Sam Uley. And I was better than him. I just wanted to show her that. The problem was that Leah was too broken. Sam had left a hole in her heart and while she danced with me, I felt her sadness, her vulnerability, and her loneliness. Her pain was visible even to a blind man. I wanted to protect her. No… I wanted her to let me protect her.

For a brief moment Leah rested her head on my shoulder and I felt her body heat rising. I didn't know if she was feeling as comfortable as me but I hoped so. Our moment didn't last though. As soon as the song was over, Leah pulled back and turned around to leave.

"I need to go." She said in a whisper.

"Why?" I knew she wanted to close this chapter once and for all. Now that Sam and Emily were finally married, she wanted to put her thoughts in order so that her mind could finally accept the cruel reality.

It would not be easy but I'd be here to help, if she allowed me to.

"I need to clear my mind."

"You're coming back, right?"

She shrugged.

"I need to be away from everyone right now."

"Promise me you'll come back soon."

"Why?"

_Because I think I'm in love with you_. That's what I wanted to tell her, but the words didn't come out.

"I know how it feels but believe me that going down that road can take you to the darkest places ever. I really don't want you to walk that road…on your own."

She gave me a small smile.

"Promise me you'll come back Leah." I insisted.

"I promise."

And then she left. Seth joined me immediately when he noticed his sister was leaving Sam's party and I stopped him from going after her. Not because I wasn't worried about her, I just knew she needed some time alone.

"Jake, let me go." Seth asked while I grabbed his forearm. "She might do something stupid."

"She needs closure Seth. I know what I'm talking about. Give her some time."

Seth followed Leah with his eyes and then nodded.

"If she doesn't come back tonight, I'm going to kick your ass." It was an empty threat but I pretended to take it seriously not to hurt his ego.

_If she's not back tonight I won't rest until I find her. _

No one else except for Seth and I had noticed Leah leaving. Everyone was having a good time. Emily was dancing with her brother Ronald, the pack was trying to get all the tables empty, and Sam was nowhere to be seen.

I wouldn't find it weird if this wasn't his wedding day. He should be there with his wife. I heard his voice a few yards away and went to see what was wrong.

"_Jacob thinks he can fix you. He tried to do the same with Bella." _I heard Sam say.

"_He knows very well I don't want his help. I can take care of myself." _And that was Leah's voice. Why couldn't Sam leave her alone? It was because of him she kept a damn wall around her heart.

"_He feels sorry for you because he felt the same once. If you keep doing this, Jacob will never stop trying to help you and you'll hurt each other." _

If Sam didn't shut the hell up, I would punch him in the face. Wedding day or not, he was stepping the line. I didn't feel sorry for Leah, I could relate with her, which was a very different thing. And what did he mean about us hurting each other?

"_Thanks for the warning Sam but I know what I'm doing."_

As soon as she was out of Sam's reach, Leah kept going and never looked back. I didn't follow her because I wanted to have a small chat with Sam first.

"Emily's looking for you." Jared said joining Sam.

"Tell her I'll be right there. I need a minute."

When Jared was gone, I went over to Sam. I couldn't contain myself.

"What was that all about?" I demanded.

"What are you talking about Jake? I just came out to…"

"To what? Make her feel like crap again?" I retaliated.

"Things with Leah are always complicated Jake. It's not my fault she still has feelings for me."

"Are you saying that because you feel bad for hurting her, because you want her to have feelings for you or because you're afraid she'll get over you soon?"

We were face to face now. Sam was four years older than me but I was now a few inches taller than him.

"Walk away Jacob." He snarled at me. "You know nothing."

"Why do you keep tormenting her?"

"What's it with you? Are you her boyfriend Jake?"

"No! I'm not her boyfriend, I'm her friend and you're not helping her at all. You're married now Sam. You had your happy ending, let Leah have hers."

"I don't think she's interested in happiness anymore."

"Because you keep recalling her what you had. You keep recalling her that she's not good enough…"

"I'm trying to make things right." Sam cut me off.

"You're being a selfish bastard. Let her have her closure."

Finally Sam turned his back on me, tired of our argument. Or maybe he was just missing his imprint.

"I might be doing it wrong Jacob, but you're messing with fire too. Leah's not Bella. Don't forget about that."

When he said those words I almost lost it. If Seth hadn't called me in that moment I would've hit Sam so hard he would've gone to his honeymoon with a black eye or maybe two.

However he wasn't the first person to tell me that. Edward had told me something similar once. He had told me I shouldn't help Leah out of pity or just to feel good about myself.

I didn't want Leah to get the wrong idea about me. Maybe at first I had tried to use Leah as a cane. I had lost Bella for the mind rapist and needed to feel useful. Leah just happened to need help. I guess I just never really thought I'd fall for her so quickly.

I didn't even realise I was falling in love with her until it was too late. And now I was in a huge mess again. Bella's rejection was still fresh on my mind and things with Leah wouldn't end any differently. She would never love someone like me. I should stop this nonsense right now. Only I didn't know how. And honestly I didn't want to.

I spent hours watching people having fun, making sure Sam stood by his wife, watching the Cullens and realising that I didn't feel the old excruciating pain every time I saw Bella holding hands with her husband.

I would always be connected to Bella, she was an important part of my past and probably my future, at least Alice seemed to be sure about that, but I guess now I was slowly letting go of her, I was willing to accept reality. She was a vampire, I was wolf. She was going to live with Edward for eternity and, just like Leah, I had to find my own closure too.

Hours later, Sam and Emily accepted Carlisle's offer to take his Mercedes Benz and drive to the airport. They were going to spend a short honeymoon at a Casino-Hotel called Black Pearl in Las Vegas. Jared was going with them to drive the car back. I didn't say goodbye to them properly because I resented Sam for what he had told Leah earlier. It was like he still wanted to own her even after getting married to his imprint. It was like he wanted Leah to be alone just because he didn't want to see her with anyone else.

He was a selfish prick. I just wanted him to leave Leah alone. She wasn't his anymore. But she wasn't mine either and I would probably imprint one day so how could I have these feelings for someone I was bound to lose?

What did I really want from Leah? Was this real love? Or was I just using her too? What could I possibly offer her? Sam had made promises of love, marriage, happiness and the second he saw Emily those promises turned into ashes damaging Leah beyond repair.

If I was going to fight for her, if I was going to try and make her love me too, I would have to prove I was better than Sam, I would have to make sure I'd never hurt her like Sam did. But would I be able to fight the imprint? Maybe I should back off; maybe I should ignore my feelings.

Why was this so damn confusing?

"I'm going to get Leah. My mother is worried and the sun is setting. I don't want her to be out there alone at night." Seth's voice made me come back to reality. It was late and there were no signs of Leah. She had promised to come back but she never told me when.

"Come on Seth, leave her be. She's fine." Quil piped in. He was on his eighth beer. "She needs time to…" He paused to empty the bottle. "She needs to..."

"She needs time to be alone." Embry finished the sentence for him. "Don't get me wrong Seth, but I really don't want to be near your sister right now."

"I'm not asking you to come, Call. I'm not asking any of you. I know what you all think about my sister." There was resentment in Seth's voice but he put on a strong front before leaving for the woods.

"Seth! Wait!" I called after him. "I'll get Leah. You can stay with Sue."

"You don't have to pretend to worry about her Jake. Go back to the party."

_I do worry about her. More than I should. _I could've said the truth to Seth but he would suspect something and he would not like to know I was in love with his sister. Actually he would probably remind me about the imprint. Seth was very protective of his sister and in his opinion Leah didn't need another "Sam" in her life.

"If you find her you won't be able to convince her to come with you. Both of us know Leah will put up a fight. But I'm her alpha. I'll bring her back."

"She's _my_ sister."

"And my beta." I sighed. Seth had the Clearwater's stubborness too. "I'll bring her home. I promise."

"Okay. Fine. Just make sure she comes back."

Seth was a good brother. Despite everything fate had thrown his way, he was still a good kid and had a good heart. He shouldn't be the one taking care of Leah, after all he was only a kid. I found Leah's scent quickly and followed it on foot. She didn't seem to go too far this time. I could smell her perfume which meant she wasn't in her wolf form.

I passed through the Cullen's property and went north, taking a shortcut when I reached the road leading to Forks. Leah was at the cliffs and I stared at her for a while before making a move. I could only see her back but the moonlight was falling upon her in a way that made her look like an angel in that dress.

It was in that moment that I realised I didn't want to imprint. I didn't want to stop feeling that way about Leah. I wanted her. I wanted to choose her.

It didn't matter how different we were. It didn't matter that she was impulsive, sarcastic, and wild. She was a wolf so it was in her nature to be wild.

"Hey…I thought I'd have to go to Canada again to find you." I said. She turned around, surprised to see me there.

"Please just don't tell me you're all looking for me." She groaned.

"Only Seth and I."

Leah rolled her eyes. She didn't like to be the "damsel-in-distress".

"Your mother was worried." I confessed. "And...I had nothing else to do."

"I'll talk to her tomorrow."

"What have you been doing here all afternoon?" I asked noticing that she was way too close to the edge of the cliffs.

"Nothing. I haven't been thinking about jumping…don't worry. Although it wouldn't make a difference. I wouldn't die so easily."

I studied her to make sure she wasn't serious.

"You should've told us where you were."

"I told you I wanted to be alone."

"The party is over. You can go home now."

Leah nodded but since she didn't move, I grabbed her hand and pulled her to me. When our eyes met something strange happened. I guess I had never really seen Leah the way I was seeing now. Her brown eyes told the story of someone who had been deeply hurt, who desperately needed someone to rely on, someone to hold her and tell her she still mattered.

"You can cry. I won't tell." I said in a whisper and then, all of sudden, her arms were around me and she was crying. She had probably spent the afternoon trying to keep those tears away but now she was finally letting everything go.

I hugged Leah as tightly as I could and felt that I should be the one to stand by her, to help her rise again. Seth was just a kid and Sue had her own life now, so I would be the person to heal Leah. When Leah finally calmed down we began our way back to her house.

"Was the party good?" She asked breaking the silence between us.

"The food was nice. You should've tried the strawberry pudding. Bella did a great job ordering the catering service."

"Yeah…"

I mentally kicked myself from mentioning Bella. If I wanted Leah to believe I was over Bella I couldn't keep talking about her.

"Are you sure the party is over?" Leah insisted.

"Yep. He's gone…" I waited a few seconds to see Leah's reaction when I mentioned Sam. She didn't cringed and I it took as a good sign. "They're on their way to Las Vegas. Carlisle offered them a one-week stay in a hotel."

"Good." She stated. "I'm glad I won't have to look at their faces for a while." She allowed herself a small smile.

As we reached her porch I noticed there was no one in the house. I didn't want to impose my presence but I wasn't comfortable on leaving her alone.

"I'll stay with you…" I tried. "I mean if you need some company." Leah looked at me and refused. "I heard what Sam told you before you could leave the party. He's wrong."

"It's fine. I always knew you were trying to help me because you failed to do the same for Bella."

How I wished to prove her wrong.

"That's not true." I stated firmly.

"I should've told you I didn't want to be fixed. Sam's right I'm not worth it and you should've noticed I'm not Isabella Swan…"

"Cullen." I corrected. She was a Cullen now. She wasn't the Bella I knew anymore.

"Whatever. I can heal on my own."

"I never thought of you as a replacement." I whispered trying to get her to understand I didn't want to be friends with her just because I wanted to heal her like I had tried to do with Bella. "I know you're hurt and I know you won't forget this day easily but I promise it gets better." I said. I took a step forward when I saw more tears rolling down her face.

This time I was the one who placed my arms around her. She looked so fragile that I didn't want to let go. She hugged me back after a while and we just stayed there for a few minutes.

I knew the pain she was going through too well. I had felt the same once. I didn't recall what had hurt the most: reading the invitation Edward sent me or watching Bella after her transformation. Because that was the moment things were over for me. The moment Bella was turned into a vampire I knew she would never be mine. And now, for the first time in many months, I was okay with it. I was happy for Bella.

We walked inside and sat down on the couch. None of us bothered turning the lights or the TV on. Nestled in my arms, Leah remained in silence even when my phone rang. Seth wanted to know if I had found his sister. I told him to spend the night at Embry's because I knew Leah didn't want his brother to see her in that state. This was something she didn't want anyone else to know.

No more words were exchanged between us. She held on to me and I just made sure she'd feel protected in my embrace. I wanted to tell her that I cared for her, that I wanted her to get over Sam and fall in love with me but I couldn't. It was still too soon. She had to heal first.

For the first time in my life I wanted to kiss someone without the need to prove something. The first time I had kissed Bella I wanted her to notice me. I wanted her to see that I was a better choice for her than Edward. The second time I kissed her I wanted to prove her she was in love with me and that she shouldn't have picked Edward over me. Both kisses were all about me and the things I wanted to prove.

But now I wanted to kiss Leah because I wanted her to know she was important, I wanted her to know I cared about her, I wanted her to feel loved and most of all I wanted her to have hopes for a happy ending. I wanted to kiss her for what she was, because she was becoming such an important part of my life. I wanted Leah to believe that it was possible to love again.

When she closed her eyes I placed my hand on her cheek and I kissed the top of her head. We slept all night in each other's arms and it was definitely the best night of my life. The morning came slowly and when the sun appeared in the horizon, I felt her getting up quietly. Although I wanted to keep her there with me I let her go.

Minutes later I heard the water running in the bathroom. I tried to focus on something else but the thought of Leah naked having a shower made my imagination run wild. She took almost a half an hour to come back downstairs and went straight to the kitchen. Then I decided to join her.

"Good morning." I greeted. I had taken off my shirt and tie and for a second I could swear Leah had taken some time checking me up.

"Hi…Are you hungry?"

My stomach grumbled loudly in response.

"Yeah. I'm starved." I sat down and waited for her to finish cooking the eggs and toasts.

"Here, you can eat all you want."

"What about you?"

She pointed to the cup of coffee on the table.

"If I knew you'd cook me breakfast I would've slept with you a long time ago."

Probably that wasn't one of the best things to say to Leah that morning but I was feeling lucky. She did slap the back of my head but I noticed she was a little bit embarrassed and her face turned a light shade of red.

"Look…I'm really sorry about yesterday. I was clearly upset and a bit depressed…"

"It's okay." I smiled.

She stared at me probably surprised that I didn't come up with a funny remark.

"If you tell anyone about this I'll kill you."

"Sure, sure."

"Just eat and then leave. I've got things to do."

"So…are you alright?"

"Yes."

"That's cool. Maybe now you can…smile sometimes." I was trying my best not to sound too cheesy.

"If you think I'm going to be all sugar from now on, you are sadly mistaken."

"Well…it's not that I can't deal with your bitchiness but…"

"Shut up, Black." She warned me.

I rolled my eyes and shrugged. She was keeping her front but I knew her better, she was just trying to sound bitchy but deep inside she was a nice person.

In that precise moment someone knocked on the door. We both knew it was Sue. Leah looked at me intensively. I shouldn't be there. Sue would get the wrong idea if she saw us having breakfast together.

"Maybe I should leave…" I suggested.

"…by the back door." She finished for me.

"I'll see you later." I waved and Leah nodded. She was going to be busy for a while so I decided to go home. I made a detour to check on the wolves that were supposed to be on patrol that morning. Everything was calm. There were no signs of vampires on our lands or the Cullen's.

I wasn't expecting to find anyone up at my place since it was early in the morning but when I reached the door I heard voices inside.

_"I don't know Paul...It's too soon."_ I heard my sister saying. They were both in the kitchen and I stopped to hear the conversation.

_"Come on babe, it's my mother's birthday. She wants you there."_ He pleaded_. "It's time you meet my family. And this is a special occasion."_

_"I didn't buy a present for her and...what will she think of me? I'm older than you and..."_

_"You're Billy's daughter. No one will judge you. My family respects Billy too much to do that. They'll love you."_ He insisted._ "Please. I'm begging."_

Paul was pathetic.

_"I need a shower first and I have to pick a decent outfit." _

_"I'll wait all morning if I have to."_ Paul stated. I heard them kiss and I kicked the door so they could realise someone was coming. When Paul realised it was me, he backed away from Rachel, who blushed slightly.

"I'm going to get ready." She announced and left to the bathroom.

"Good morning Jake." Paul greeted with a smile. I hated him before we turned into wolves but now that he had imprinted on my sister, I hated him even more.

"What are you doing here?" I growled.

"Rachel's coming to have lunch with my family." He announced. "It's my mother's birthday."

I reached the fridge to have a glass of milk and in that instant Paul smelled the air around me.

"Seriously?" He asked. "Are you doing Clearwater?"

I spit the milk all over the floor.

"What the fuck Paul! Are you mental?"

"You smell like the Clearwaters and since I know you're not into the homo kind of thing, I'm assuming you've been doing Leah, right?"

"No. I haven't." I tried to keep calm. "We danced in Sam's wedding, remember? She was a bridesmaid and I was Sam's best man."

"You reek of Leah. Her scent is all over you. You've been dancing another kind of dance, my friend."

"I went looking for her last night. She was missing."

Paul grinned.

"So the bitch finally snapped." He grimaced.

"She's not a bitch."

"Of course she is." He firmed. "She's always picking on someone. Sam's better off without her."

_Finally something we both agree on._ I thought to myself.

"Respect her and I'm sure she'll respect you too."

"What the fuck are you Jake? Her guardian?"

"It's my job the make the pack function as a whole. We need to trust and respect everyone in the pack. Including Leah."

"And apparently some of us have benefits, huh? She's hot, isn't she? Before I met your sister I had really nice dreams about Leah. That body of hers must feel like heaven, right Jake?"

"Shut it!" I warned him.

"Come on Jake. You can tell me. Is she wild in bed? Does she bite? I've heard she had a one-night stand with Collin's cousin..."

A lot of rumours about Leah and Kaynan's date came out but none was true. I was the only one who knew what had really happened that night.

"I'm warning you Paul."

"Did she take our alpha's "V" card?" Paul laughed some more. "I wouldn't get too attached though...Leah's just a good fuck. She's not girlfriend material like Emily, Rachel or Kim, if you know what I mean."

I was about to punch Paul in the face when my dad joined us.

"Good morning boys. Can I have a word with you Jake?"

"Sure."

"Can you tell Rach I'll pick her up at noon?" Paul asked my father and headed to the door.

"Of course."

We both waited until Paul was out of our property.

"Is that true?" My dad asked.

"What?"

"Did you sleep with Leah? Are you two together?"

I was too shocked to answer his questions.

"Jake...I know we think she can't get pregnant and I know you're both young but remember she's Harry and Sue's daughter. She's like a sister to you and she just lost the man she loved. Her heart is broken and you won't be helping her by having sex..."

"Dad!" I exclaimed. "I'm not...sleeping with Leah. That was just Paul being a jerk."

"Oh!" My father sighed in relief. "I'm glad to know...Because neither of you are old enough to commit yourselves into a relationship and there are still a few things about that…stuff I want to teach you."

"Please dad…Not the sex talk." I begged him.

"It's for your own good."

"I'm not seeing anyone. Can you please spare me?"

"Fine. But when you start dating I want you to tell me, okay?" He asked. "So where were you all night?"

"I took Leah home...she was upset...and then I patrolled on my own until dawn." I lied.

"I see...You're a good kid Jake and a very good leader."

I smiled.

"Go have some rest." He added.

"Hey dad..."

"What?"

"Do you think I'll imprint some day?"

"You're an alpha. Ephraim's heir...your genes are too important not to be passed to the next generation."

"And if I fight the imprint?"

"Why would you do that?"

"I don't appreciate the idea of having fate decide who I should love. I can make my own decisions. The imprint isn't real. It's all fake...It bounds us to someone we don't even know."

"It's old magic Jacob. You have to accept it. I don't think you have a choice son."

"We'll see about it."

As I walked inside my room I could still feel Leah's scent in me and it was a good feeling. No matter what destiny had in mind for me, I would fight an imprint and break it if I had to if that meant I could keep my love for Leah intact.

**To be continued...**

* * *

Special thanks: teamtorettosupporter, Blackwater Crazziii, Cracker679, TheSkeptic88, Jeakat, Tara Maria, Queen Leti, Firefly-class, MelkiSihou, brankel1, Kwop, MoliWood.


	5. Ep 5 - And two steps back

Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer not me.

Author/Note 1: This one-shot follows what happens during chapter 15 of _Our Dawn 2_. For the ones who don't remember what happened in this chapter: Jacob finally returns from his trip with Jasper, Edward, and four vampires who were recruited to serve as witnesses when the Volturi arrive. Aware that he needs to pass the finals, Jacob asks Leah to give him lessons for a week.

A/Note 2: I'm not a native English speaker so I'm sorry for my grammar and spelling. Thank you for reading.

**_Our Dawn Series Specials_**

**_Episode Five – And Two Steps Back_**

**_Jacob Black_**

I didn't know how long I stayed on the Clearwater's porch, my eyes on her. She was all I could see and smell in that moment. I realized, at some point someone was passing me by, mumbling something about the mind rapist, but I couldn't care. It was like I was blind and deaf when Leah was standing in front of me.

I saw her moving her lips but I couldn't tell what she was saying. It was only when Seth came into my view that I realised I was still standing there like an idiot.

A few minutes later Sue was gone too and I was left with the Clearwater siblings. I told them about my trip to South America with the mind rapist and the emo soldier. Together we had brought four vampires who were staying at the Canadian border. I couldn't call it an army to help us fight the Volturi but at least it was something. Carlisle had brought five vampires with his own group and now, having nine allies on our side, all we could do was wait.

According to the Cullens, nine vampires as witnesses are enough to persuade the Italians not to exterminate us. I think they are idiots but I kind of hope they're right.

In the meantime I had more important problems to solve. I had bet a large sum of money. The bet was about me passing the year and finish high school but if I failed, I would definitely have to work my entire life to pay back the money to all of the people who had placed their bets against me. So far only two people believed I was able to win the bet: Bella and Leah.

Since I had made an agreement with Leah a while ago, I was now ready to make one final effort and study as hard as I could to pass the finals. I had one week to prepare myself for the exams and that was the reason why I had asked Leah to stay at her place.

Initially I thought she was going to say no, but I guess Seth's puppy eyes sealed the deal. Seth was her weakness, anyone who knew Leah well enough would know that. There were, of course, two other reasons for me to be there. The first one was Paul Lahote.

Since my trip with the Cullens, he had been spending more time with my sister, at my place. Even though my dad never let him spend the night, Paul was now a regular guest in my house and we didn't get along ever since he had imprinted on Rachel.

I had no will whatsoever to see the moron grope, kiss and bone my sister. I would have to deal with that one day through the mind link, but I would rather not see it happening in front of my face anytime soon.

As bad as it was to have Paul almost living in my house, there was another person I wanted to avoid like the plague. Sam Uley.

He was the second reason I was there. Sam was a great beta. A great warrior. He was strong and loyal but he was a major asshole. Right now he wasn't even on my top 10 favourite people.

Ever since I had been hanging around with Leah, I disliked Sam more and more. I used to be sorry for him. Before Emily, Sam had loved Leah and I knew he had never meant to hurt her. I also knew he didn't choose to imprint. In my opinion imprinting was more like an obligation and despite all the magic involved it made people lose their freedom of choice.

And even though I knew I could trust Sam to do the right thing as beta of the pack, I didn't trust him around Leah. Just before I came to the Clearwaters I went to see him to ask Sam to organise patrols and lead the pack while I studied with Leah and since we were both phased, the stupid son of a bitch showed me a memory of him and Leah in her kitchen just a few days ago after he came back from his honeymoon with Emily. He had almost kissed her.

I had no idea if he'd done that intentionally or not, what I knew was that Sam was a douche and I didn't want him around Leah. She'd been able to push him back and even slap him but I had a feeling that she wasn't over Sam yet. And if I was going to try and fight for her, I'd have to make sure Sam was pushed into the darkest places of her memories.

"You could've come tomorrow. You should rest from the trip." Leah told me placing my Geography book on the table. We had finished dinner only a few minutes ago.

"I know...but..."

"Let me guess..." She cut me off. "Paul's at your place with Rach." She guessed. I guess she knew me better than I thought.

"Yeah...He practically moved in and dad won't tell him to leave because he doesn't want to upset Rachel."

"Billy's happy because she's home. You have to respect your dad's feelings."

Dad wouldn't mind if a tree had imprinted on Rachel as long as she stayed in the Reservation. My father had never forbid my sisters from leaving La Push but secretly, he wanted them to return. Now that Rachel had been imprinted on by Paul, he was happier than ever.

"I get that but...it's Paul." I complained. Paul was a jerk. Period. "Why didn't you kill him while I was away?"

"You didn't tell me to." She joked.

"I guess I should've asked." I agreed.

"If you order me to kill him, I'll do it right now."

We both laughed at that.

"Dad told me about what really happened during the attack. He told me you saved Bella."

"I was doing my job. Besides Bella wasn't in any real danger."

"Edward wants to thank you personally."

"It wasn't me who saved her. It was Paul."

"You gave the orders though."

She shrugged and then our eyes met. She had beautiful dark brown eyes that matched her brown hair which was growing now. She would have to cut it soon again though she was equally beautiful with short hair.

The intensity of her look was confusing. I didn't want to see signs where there weren't any, but Leah was looking at me in a way that it made my hopes grow stronger. It was almost as if time had stopped that moment and there was only us in the world.

"So…" She finally broke the silence that had settled between us. "Are you going to tell me the truth about your trip with the leeches? Why did you go with them?"

"I…needed to be sure about something." I confessed_. I needed to know if I was falling for you or if it was all in my imagination_. I was tempted to add.

"You wanted to know if you could trust me with the pack." She said. She had no idea how wrong she was but I couldn't tell her the truth without making a fool of myself. "Do you trust me now?"

"I always did." I told her sincerely.

"Yeah, sure you did." I could notice the sarcasm in her voice.

"Look, I confess that I promoted you to beta because I had no option that night. You had me cornered there. I wanted to keep you safe and I thought that a higher position in the pack would work. But now I don't think that way anymore. Sam is a great beta but so are you. You have other qualities."

"He's strong, he knows about leadership and everyone likes him. And me? Oh, yeah I remember…I'm the one with long legs and tits, right?"

I turned my face away to avoid her eyes. I didn't want to see the disappointment in her face. Leah shared Paul's opinion. She thought that I had only promoted her because she was a girl. That wasn't true at all.

"It's not like that." I muttered.

"It's fine Jacob, I wasn't expecting much. I always knew Sam's better for the job than me."

"You're wrong."

"Let's go to sleep." She said, ending the conversation. Leah turned around and a minute later I heard her steps going up the stairs. I sat down on the couch placing my head back and closing my eyes.

I didn't know what was more upsetting: not being able to tell Leah about my true feelings or not being able to make her believe I trusted her as my second-in-command.

Things between us had changed so much in the last few months. I had returned with answers but no solutions whatsoever. If only I could make her see she was important to me?

If only she knew I had spent those days missing her every damn minute. If only she knew I went with Edward and Jasper to get answers to questions I was being plagued with after the night we'd spent together on the day Sam and Emily got married.

I had noticed we were becoming closer before but that night something changed. Maybe it was because she finally showed me her vulnerability, maybe it was the way her heart pounded every time I pulled her near me, maybe it was the warmth I felt when she closed her eyes and fell asleep in my arms after crying a river. Or maybe it was just because we fitted together and I finally realised I could actually fight for her.

There was no one holding us back anymore. Bella was mostly forgotten and Sam was finally Emily's husband. I could make her happy again. I would treat her better than Sam. I would never leave her. But she had to give me a chance to prove myself and that was a whole different story.

Like me, Leah had been deeply wounded. Like me, she had tasted rejection and now she didn't trust any man. Her heart was closed with a locket and she had thrown away the key. I was willing to try but I knew the task would be tremendously hard. She didn't believe in love anymore and she didn't trust guys like me. A non-imprinted wolf. She despised us.

Even though I had hopes that I wouldn't imprint, Leah would always see the danger of a relationship with someone like me. But the fear I had of hurting her and myself was a chance I'd have to take. I had to do something, I had to act according to my feelings and my feelings were telling me to take a leap of faith.

Could it be done? Could I make Leah Clearwater love me? I used to think that would be impossible but the morning after Sam's wedding, I felt she was different, more at ease, her heart seemed to have healed a little and I could put the pieces back together, if she'd let me.

All I needed was one chance. And a little bit of luck.

I stared at the ceiling not knowing what to do next. I had asked Leah to stay a week at her place so I could catch up in my studies, but I knew for sure that was not the reason why I was there and I was sure I wouldn't be able to study enough to pass.

Seth was still patrolling. He would probably crash at someone else's place for the night. We did that all the time. I used to crash at Sam's before he married Emily, at Quil's and sometimes even at Jared's. I knew Seth wasn't coming home tonight which meant I could talk to Leah without spectators but she wasn't in the best of moods and right now she was asleep.

She was asleep in her room. I could hear her breathing and before I could realise what I was doing I was standing in front of her bedroom's open door. She was lying down, a small white sheet covering her bare legs. Her hair, slightly longer than a couple of months ago, was covering her left eye. I pushed the door and let myself in without making a sound.

It was hard to believe that the girl sleeping calmly in that bed could be so complicated sometimes. She was still a harpy to everyone else in the pack minus her brother. However I knew her better now. I knew she was not who she usually seemed to be. It was all a façade. Sure she was harsh sometimes, but when she wanted she could be sweet and generous.

She looked so peaceful. It was as if nothing could bother her in that moment. And she looked gorgeous. I sat down on the wooden floor, my back against the cold wall and I just stayed there for a moment, watching her sleep in all her natural beauty.

Even with the risk of sounding like a little cliché, I knew things were changing too fast. I had accepted I had feelings towards Leah I wouldn't have towards any other pack member. I knew now she wasn't like a sister to me. I had realised it more clearly when Edward received a call from Bella telling him about the attack at La Push.

I had my heart pounding until the moment Bella told us everyone was alright and that Leah had done a great job leading the pack during the attack. But that night I couldn't sleep and it wasn't because we were in a different country, half world apart from the place I should be and away from the people I wanted to be with, it was because I suddenly thought what could've happened to Leah if the pack hadn't followed her instructions, if things hadn't worked out the best way. Someone could've gotten hurt. And Leah was always eager to show her bravery. Her courage had already put her in danger more than once.

Besides, no one liked Leah much. She had no one to protect her. The young members were afraid of her and the others hated her with passion which meant no one would give a damn if something happened to her. Without me the pack was weaker but I never thought the Volturi mob would send two freaking vampires to La Push. If I had known I would've stayed. I would've protected her just like I'd done in the past, during the battle against Victoria's newborns.

Luckily she hadn't done anything reckless. She had made a brilliant job keeping everyone safe, including herself. Maybe that was the reason why she was a wolf. Leah had always thought she had been cursed. She was the first woman to phase in History and everyone thought she was a freak because so far only men had phased. But maybe the wolf gene had nothing to do with gender and everything to do with courage, bravery and a strong sense of leadership.

Leah was by far one of the bravest girls I had ever known. She had gone through so much and was still here protecting her people. She always faced her problems and never ran away like me. She wouldn't win points for her sympathy that's for sure but she knew how to lead a pack. She was the kind of girl I wanted by my side and I had no clue why I couldn't see it sooner.

Well…thinking about it, maybe I could. First of all, she was more like an older sister to me. At least until I fell for her. Back in those days Leah was just Leah. Seth's sister, Rachel and Becca's best friend. She was nice, most of the times, and started dating Sam when they were seventeen, and that was reason number two. It never crossed my mind I'd fall in love with Sam's girl. Ex-girl.

The third reason broke my heart. Her name was Bella. I had a crush on her since I was around seven or eight years old. But I never thought we'd grow close until she moved in with Charlie. Long story short, I loved her, she loved Edward more. I never had a chance and I ended up heartbroken.

I had been too focused on Bella's drama to notice Leah. And I was sorry for that because right now I only had two options: accept that I was falling for Leah and tell her, or walk away before we both got hurt.

It was a mess. I couldn't decide what to do. One moment I wanted to wake her up and ask her out, the other moment I just wanted to let her sleep and forget she existed.

_Make your move. The mind rapist is right. She has feelings for you, otherwise you wouldn't have caught her thinking about you the night she was patrolling with Esme and Bella. She is getting over Sam. She even slapped him when he tried to kiss her. _

_Maybe you should just stay put. So what if she was thinking about you? You're the alpha. Many other wolves think about you. Seth was constantly thinking about how unfair you were not allowing him to go with the leeches. Besides, what if you imprint? _

My brain and my feelings were in constant conflict. I wanted Leah. I couldn't deny that any longer. Edward was right, my trip with them only proved I was wrong. Putting more space between Leah and I was useless. I thought if we were away from each other, I'd realise she wasn't all that important, I thought I'd be able to focus on my mission. Only I couldn't. I often worried about her, more than about everyone else. I thought about her too much and almost drove Edward crazy with my fantasies and dreams.

Deep inside I knew I should come clean with her and tell her how I felt. It was the right thing to do because in two months we could all be dead. I should be honest, brave and not fear rejection. But there was a voice in the back of my mind telling me this shouldn't happen.

Voicing out my feelings for Leah would probably cause us more pain than anything else. It could be dangerous for both and I didn't want her to think I was only using her as a rebound. I also didn't want to be another "Sam" in her life. The problem was that I couldn't know for sure I wouldn't imprint on some other girl. According to the Council, it was bound to happen for I was the pack's alpha. I would definitely fight against such bond if Leah loved me, but was that love enough for me to break an imprint? Could I be stronger than Sam? Should I tell her the truth?

I was tired of running away and lying to myself. And to others. I was lying to all of my friends and family and when I had to patrol I had to be extra careful not to let anything slip. If someone, beside Edward, found out I was in love with Leah, there would be blood. And right now we couldn't afford that.

_I won't do this._ I finally decided. Not until I was absolutely sure Leah was over Sam. Not until she was ready.

I got up from the floor and walked over to the bed. I knew if she caught me there I was a dead man but it was a risk I was willing to take in that moment.

She shifted slightly when I sat down on the bed, next to her, but she didn't wake up so I took a strand of her hair out of her face and I leaned in to kiss her forehead.

Either I had turned incredibly bold or amazingly stupid. But that night luck as on my side and Leah kept sleeping. I let my lips linger on the top of her head longer than I should because that was it. That was me giving up. I couldn't do this right now at least not until we were all out of danger. I was going to wait so this kiss would have to be enough until the time was right.

_You call this a kiss? _A part of my brain rebelled. _Since when you're so modest? If she's asleep, might as well take the chance to taste her._

I'd like to kiss her for real but I'd also like to leave that room with all of my limbs. Leah was the kind of girl that could literally torn a guy apart so I decided to seal this with just one chaste kiss on the forehead.

What goes around comes around. That's the saying. I just hoped one day, one day in the near future, I'd be rewarded.

Inhaling Leah's sweet scent one last time, I left her bedroom and went to the couch. For now my place was in the couch.

_It's enough._ I kept repeating to myself. _For now, it's enough._ _For now..._

xxxxxxxxxx

I woke up four hours later. I had a nightmare about Leah. We had lost her in the upcoming war against the Volturi. A red-eyed vampire had killed her and I had felt everything through the mind link. Pain, sorrow, regret. All of that hit me at once. We had never lost a member of the pack before so we didn't know what to expect. The others felt confused and sad, but me...I felt empty.

In my dream I had spent hours near her broken body in the forest. I could listen to people talking behind me, but I paid no attention to their words. My mind was blank, my heart was aching and my eyes were clouded with too many tears. Covered with my shirt, Leah wasn't breathing or yelling at me like she used to. She was silent, cold and dead.

_"Why didn't you tell her while you had the chance?"_ Edward's voice reached me.

_"Because I was a coward." _I replied.

_"Why didn't you protect her?"_ That was Sue.

_"Because I wasn't strong enough."_

_"Why didn't you give her something to live for?"_ Seth yelled at me.

_"Because I was an idiot."_

"_Why couldn't you tell her Jake?" _Bella asked. _"You should've told her like you told me. You should've kissed her like you kissed me."_

"_I know." _A wave of regret hit me full force. Leah was dead and it was my fault. I should've told her I was in love with her. I should've told her I cared about her.

Then Sam arrived and took Leah away from me. Pain struck me as I was left alone in the darkest place of the forest with nothing else but the memory of Leah's smile.

It was a relief when I woke up. I kept staring at the ceiling for more than an hour just listening to Leah's soft breathing upstairs. Then I decided to have a quick shower before Leah got up and Seth came home from patrol.

I picked up some clean clothes from my bag and walked upstairs to shower. I removed my clothes, leaving them on the bathroom's floor, and turned on the water after wrapping a green towel around my waist. I was about to go inside the tub when someone walked inside the bathroom without even knocking.

I just stood there, staring at Leah who had also been caught off guard by my presence there. Thankfully I wasn't completely naked otherwise this would've been too embarrassing. But Leah wasn't full-clothed either and that was a problem.

Leah had just woken up and she had removed almost all of her clothes too. She was wearing black boy shorts and a bra. Being confined to a small room and having a woman in front of me with little clothes on at such an early hour in the morning was a bit stressful.

I had blood on my veins and a wild imagination as far as Leah was concerned. Plus I wasn't made of stone though a part of my body was trying to convince me otherwise. To be caught by Leah Clearwater in such a delicate situation was not my idea of fun unless she'd want to play that game too which didn't seem to be the case.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. I couldn't tell if she was angry because I was in her bathroom, or if she was nervous because we were both half naked but she was blushing which meant she probably liked what she was seeing.

Noticing my eyes glued on her breasts, Leah took a towel out of the small white cabinet and covered herself a little.

"I was going to take a shower." I explained myself pointing to the running water and trying to cover the growing bulge between my legs.

"In my house?"

"I thought you said I could stay here for a week. I need to shower."

She snorted.

"I agreed on helping you study and provide a few meals. I said nothing about free showers. You have a house."

"Come on Leah… I've got the water running already." I tried.

Leah Clearwater wasn't a morning person. She rolled her eyes at me and pushed me out of her way to inspect the water temperature.

"Thank you for doing it for me. I'm going to have a shower."

"What about me?"

"You want to join me?"

I was speechless for a moment. Was she serious? I got an approval from my lower member which was still as hard as a rock. However I knew she was probably just teasing me.

"If you don't mind, I guess we could share." I answered back and met an icy glare in return.

"Take your clothes and shut the door behind you, moron."

"Fine…I'll wait for my turn." I started to pick up my clothes from the floor. Fortunately Leah didn't notice my hard on. "But in return, you have to cook breakfast."

"Fine. Just leave."

I waited for her outside trying to forget about the fact that Leah was naked, in the shower, only a few feet away from me and only a wooden door separating us.

When she finished, she went to her bedroom and I had my shower. Instead of turning the hot water on, I had to use cold water to make sure I'd meet Leah downstairs without a bulge on my pants. Fortunately, it worked.

Minutes later, I met Leah having her breakfast alone. There was bacon, eggs and coffee enough for both of us but Leah was eating all on her own.

"Where's my plate?" I asked.

She shrugged and took another sip of coffee.

"I said I'd cook breakfast but I never said I'd cook yours."

She was testing my patience today and I was totally falling in her schemes. I always got grouchy when I was hungry and right now I was pretty much starving.

"Give me my share Leah." I asked.

"What share?"

"Don't test me." I warned her.

"Or?" She challenged.

"Or I'll take what it's mine by force."

"I'm so scared, Black." She joked and ate all of the toast in the plate.

"You're a bitch." I muttered.

"And proud." She agreed.

"Didn't your mother teach you to share?"

"Nope."

"Come on…I'm starving." I complained.

She just smiled mischievously. I tried to reach for the plate but she held it away from me. I gave it another try but she repeated the maneuver.

"Damn it, Leah!"

"If you want to eat you'll have to cook your own food. I'm not your maid."

That was it. I snapped. She had been nice last night, allowing me to stay and tutoring me, and now she was acting like a total bitch. Was she bipolar? Was she angry because I'd used the bathroom without her permission?

"I tried to warn you."

I took a few steps forward and grabbed the plate she was still holding. She pulled and I did the same. I was stronger so it was only natural that I'd won that battle only Leah didn't let go. She tried to push me back against the table but before she could give me a second push I pushed her against the wall. She hit her head and cursed.

"Asshole!" She yelled at me. "Let go!"

"No, you let go!"

And she did. Because I was pulling the plate, it came right at me and the next minute I was covered in bacon and eggs and the plate was shattered on the floor. She grinned victoriously.

"I win." She boasted.

I was seeing red by then so I reached a glass of orange juice and I poured it over her head.

"Who's the winner now?" I mocked her.

She pushed me hard and I hit the table. I grabbed her wrists and tried to force her to sit down on the chair next to her. Stubbornly, Leah kicked me and I fell taking her with me. She tried to untangle herself but I had her caged on top of me.

"What the hell is wrong with you today?" I yelled at her.

"Nothing! Let me go!"

"Why are you acting like this?"

"Because you're an idiot."

"Was it because of what I said last night?"

"It's because there's something you don't seem to understand!"

"Please enlighten me."

"I'm not Bella." She tried to get herself free from my iron grip and failed.

"I think I can tell the difference between you two. Plus Bella never acted this crazy."

Wrong words. Unable to move her arms, Leah moved her legs and almost kicked my lower parts. To make sure she wouldn't try something like that again, I flipped us over and caged her underneath my body. I realised we were in a compromising position but I wanted to know what the hell was going on in that head of hers.

"I'm not going to sit by while you take pity on me."

"Who the hell told you I…"

"Don't lie!" She cut me off. "You think I don't see it in your eyes? You think I can't feel it? I'm not that stupid!"

"You're paranoid."

"Stop feeling sorry for me. Stop trying to fix me. Stop protecting me and stop acting like you care! Let's at least keep a little part of our friendship alive, okay?"

"And how can we keep our friendship alive if you keep pushing me away? We were supposed to be best friends, remember?"

"I don't think I can be your best friend anymore."

"Why not? What did I do?" I asked her. "Tell me!"

"Wow…You owe Paul twenty bucks." Said someone behind us. Slowly, I released Leah and offered my hand for her to get up. She just slapped me and got to her feet on her own.

"What the fuck are you two doing here?" She asked Embry and Quil who had walked inside by the back door.

"Just checking on Jake. Sam said he was back and was going to have a week off. We just wanted to know what's going on." Quil answered. "Now we do." He grinned. "We better go, Embry. We don't want to get in the way of their…love fest."

"What love fest? We were…" Leah stopped mid-sentence.

"I have to study to pass the finals. I'll take double patrols afterwards." I explained my friends. They too had to study for the finals but their grades weren't as bad as mine.

"It seemed to me you were doing a lot more than study." Quil laughed and Leah took a step forward.

"He's just messing you with." I told her grabbing her by one arm, just in case she'd jump Quil.

"Get out!" She yelled at them.

"Will you calm down?" I tried.

Leah pushed me back and turned around to leave.

"I'm going to take a shower..._again_. When I come back you two better be gone. And you..." She turned to face me. "You better be studying."

We remained in silence until we heard the water running upstairs.

"You're whipped Jake." Quil laughed slightly. "You should come with us. She might kill you if you misspell a word. I'm just trying to watch out for your safety."

"What was that all about?" Embry asked. Unlike Quil he seemed more curious than worried about my life.

"We were fighting over the breakfast."

"How mature." Quil commented.

"Was that all?" Embry insisted. "I think I've heard Bella's name before coming in."

"We had an argument last night too. She thinks I don't trust her as my beta." I confessed.

"And do you?" Embry questioned.

"Yes."

"She did a fair job when those leeches attacked." Quil conceded. "But she's no Sam. He'd probably do better."

I shrugged.

"There's no point comparing them now." I stated. "They're both betas."

"Come on Jake, don't be so naïve. It's always been a competition for Leah." Embry said. "Ever since Sam broke up with her, she hasn't been the same. Everything's a competition. She has to be faster than us, smarter, better than any of the Cullens, better than Emily...she craves control in all the wrong ways."

"How do you know that?" I asked surprised.

"I'm not blind Jake. Leah's trying to fit in but she won't do it with your help. She needs to do it on her own. If she knows that you're trying to help her, she'll back off. She doesn't want anyone's pity."

"If she catches you feeling sorry for her, she'll kill you." Quil added. "You better do what we do."

"And what's that? Ignore her?"

"Yep." Quil replied. "Just let her have her way and ignore her. Don't try to be friends with her because you won't get anything in return."

"Besides...once this is over, she wants to leave." Embry informed.

"She does?"

"She told Seth she wants to go away from here. Away from Sam, I suppose."

_Always Sam_. I thought bitterly. Was there a way to remove Sam out of her head? His shadow would always pose a threat to me. Sometimes it was so hard to understand Leah, to be her friend and talk to her. Last night I had a plan: once the Volturi were back in Italy, I'd gather some courage and I'd tell her about my feelings. Now it seemed to me that my plan would be useless. Leah was acting weird and I'd just find out she wanted to leave La Push.

"So? Are you coming or what?" Quil asked me.

"I'm staying. I need to win the bet."

Quil and Embry exchanged a look.

"Fine. Good luck. I guess you'll need it." Embry waved going over to the door.

"See you around Jake." Quil said following Embry.

All of a sudden staying at Leah's for a week didn't seem like a good idea anymore. I should just go home and study by myself. I thought I could handle her but what if I did something, or even say something that could end my chances with her during this week? Especially now that she was acting so damn weird.

_If you're so scared of losing her, man up and tell her already! _My brain yelled. _That dream was all about that. Tell her while you still have a chance. Tomorrow might be too late._

I turned around to go and clean myself since I had bacon all over my shirt and noticed Leah was right in front of me. She was wearing clean clothes and her hair was wet. She smelled like coconut and vanilla.

_There's your cue. Don't be a pussy. Tell her!_

"Leah..." I started. "I need to tell you something..."

"I told you to go and study..."

"Let me finish." I asked her. When she didn't speak, I continued. "I want to tell you that I'm...that I'm in..."

"Yes?" She crossed her arms.

"I want to tell you that I'm going to take a shower and I'll help you clean the kitchen."

"Oh...Fine...I'll wait for you then." She said. "Hurry up, we have other things to do."

_Idiot_. I called myself dragging my feet upstairs. _You're such an idiot. Instead of taking one step forward, you just took two steps back._

**To be continued...**

* * *

Special thanks: teamtorettosupporter, Blackwater Crazziii, Cracker679, TheSkeptic88, Jeakat, Tara Maria, Queen Leti, Firefly-class, MelkiSihou, brankel1, Kwop, MoliWood, rocklesson86.

I'd also like to thank everyone who added this story to their favourite's list.


	6. Ep 6 - Choices

Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer not me.

Author/Note 1: This one-shot follows what happens during chapter 15 of _Our Dawn 2_. For the ones who don't remember what happened in this chapter: the finals are over and Jacob and the rest of the pack celebrate having one night out. A night club, girls and a lot of alcohol, what can go wrong?

A/Note 2: I'm not a native English speaker so I'm sorry for my grammar and spelling. Thank you for reading.

**_Our Dawn Series Specials_**

**_Episode Six - Choices_**

**_Jacob Black_**

"Come on man...cheer up. School is over. We're finally free." Embry put an arm around my shoulders.

We were officially on holidays. Today we had done our last exam: Maths. It sucked and I was ninety per cent sure I was going to fail but at least it was over. Now we could have some free time to have fun. At least for tonight.

No one knew about our little trip. Except for the pack and the Cullens. We had been so wrapped up trying to organise our defences against the Italian leeches that we had almost forgotten we were only teenagers and had a life outside the pack.

"It was your idea." Quil added. "And now you look like you're in a damn funeral."

Quil was right. It was my idea. That trip was supposed to be all about having fun for one night. A night to make up for the countless nights the pack had to leave their beds and patrol, train and worry about the safety of everyone living in Forks and La Push. We were only teenagers, we needed a break.

Now that we were on holidays, the Council wanted us to focus on our trainings and on the battle ahead but we were all sick and tired of thinking about the upcoming battle with the sadistic leeches. We wanted to be able to be ourselves. And what do teenagers do when they want to get fun? They sneak out.

"Sam didn't approve though." I stated looking around to see if the pack was all there. I was supposed to be having fun too but I had to make sure the younger ones didn't get in trouble, especially in a public place.

"Sam's an ass. And now that he's married he's even more boring than before." Embry said.

"Touché!" Quil agreed.

I couldn't take the whole pack to a night club without speaking to Sam first. He didn't agree with our little adventure. He said that we should go home, have some rest, play a few games on the computer, and prepare ourselves for training. In his opinion we were neglecting our responsibilities.

But since I was the alpha, my word prevailed. Sam ended up accepting that we needed this break but he advised me to leave some wolves behind so the Council wouldn't suspect we were gone. I had chosen Sam, Jared and Paul who would be responsible to secure La Push's perimeter for tonight and I promised Sam I'd speak to the Cullens so they could help too.

However things didn't happen the way I wanted to because Paul made a fuss. He figured he had the right to have some fun too. I almost lost my patience with him but if I didn't let him join us, he'd probably tell my dad, so Leah volunteered to stay in his place.

Now I hated Paul even more. Leah was the only person I wanted to celebrate with tonight and because of him, she was going to spend the night patrolling with none other than Sam freaking Uley. Fortunately Jared would be there as well otherwise I don't think I would've allowed it.

"Come on Jake. Let's have some fun!" Embry yelled when the music started again.

'Where Have You Been' by Rihanna. Even the stupid song made me think of Leah. Despite spending the whole week studying and focusing only on the exams, I still found myself trapped in that web. I had to know my priorities and Leah shouldn't be one of them. Now that school was over, I should only focus on the battle against the Volturi. But it was harder than I thought.

"Hey...aren't you that guy who used to be all over Bella Swan?" A girl with blondish hair and green eyes asked me in a most irritating nasal-sounding voice.

I realised then that both my friends had deserted me and were on the dance floor with a couple of brunette girls. The Seven Sins was a night club outside Forks, famous for their exotic dancers. The round stage on the center of the dance floor could only take five dancers each time and they used to invite one guy per song to dance with them. Quil and Embry were trying their luck ever since we arrived. So far only Shane was able to get the dancer's attention but the night was still young.

"Hey!" The girl snapped her fingers in front of my face, calling my attention. "Cat ate your tongue?"

"Who are you?"

"Lauren Mallory. I went to High school with Bella. I think I saw you together a couple of times." She explained.

"And?"

"I've heard she's married now."

"She is." I confirmed. She knew Bella but I had no recollection of Lauren whatsoever.

"Are you still friends with her?"

"Maybe." I hoped she'd take the hint and stopped the questions about Bella. I didn't want to spend the rest of the night talking to Bella's old friends about her wedding.

"I'm here with my friends." She pointed over to a table near one of the windows. I could see three girls and one guy all laughing together. "They want to meet you and your friends. What do you say?"

Quil and Embry left the dance floor immediately and surrounded us.

"I accept. I'm Embry by the way."

"And I'm Quil."

"Great! Come on, I'll introduce you." Lauren put on a huge smile.

Embry and Quil winked and dragged me along.

Lauren's group was formed by three beautiful girls. Tara had big blue eyes and blonde hair. She was modelling for some make-up company from California. Becky was a pale girl and she had red hair and green eyes, but the one who really caught my eye was Leigh who had brown curled hair and dark eyes.

"Oh and this is Tyler, my boyfriend." Lauren sat down in his lap and kissed his cheek. None of us paid much attention to the guy though his face was familiar.

The girls had lots of questions for us, questions that Embry and Quil started to answer immediately, trying to get their attention. Most of those questions were about our workout sessions. My friends had to lie and say that they were in a private gym. It was obvious that Tara was into Embry and Becky seemed interested in Quil too. So I was left behind with Leigh when they all went to dance.

"I hate Rihanna." Leigh told me. She was looking at the table, probably too embarrassed or scared to look at me. Now they were playing' Diamonds'. It was a bit annoying.

"I don't like her either." I confessed. "So, are you from Forks? I don't remember seeing you at Bella's class."

"I'm from California. And I don't know any Bella." She said. "Lauren and I are taking the same English class at the University. We're sort of friends and I came to spend the holidays here."

"Oh...you're in the University."

"Yes. That's what young people do these days, right?"

"If you're not committed..."

"Oh...so you're committed? Are you married? How old are you?"

"Not that sort of commitment..." I laughed slightly. "I'm committed to my community. There aren't many of us who go to the University. My sister did but she was lucky..."

"I see...Well lucky you Jacob. I guess I should've been born in your community."

"You don't like going to the University?" I asked with curiosity. Before marrying Edward, Bella had this dream about going to the University and take a degree. If she hadn't turned into a Cold One, she'd probably be in a famous University by now.

"I don't like people telling me what to do." Leigh confessed and put her beer aside.

"Your parents?" I guessed.

"Yeah. My father is a lawyer and my mother is an architect. Both my older sisters followed their steps. So now I have two lawyers and two architects in the family. I'm the odd man out. I was forced to go to the University. God forbid me of not going...my mother would have a stroke or something and I'd humiliate the whole family."

"If you don't like it, you should tell them."

"I tried. It didn't work out."

"So...and what is it that you wanted to do?" I asked. Leigh gave me a smile.

"I want to be a surfer. I love the water. I feel free when I'm swimming. Actually that's the only moment in my life I feel like I own my life and myself."

"It sounds cool." There was a moment of silence between us. It was easy to speak to this girl but we didn't have that much in common.

"You're not like your friends." She commented.

"What do you mean?"

"You're not hitting on me." She stated bluntly. I probably blushed a little. "What's wrong? Are you gay?"

"Gay?" I almost laughed. "No, I'm pretty sure I'm not gay. I just...I...don't think you and I..."

"You have someone." She tried to guess. She was kind of right. I had someone I liked already. If that wasn't the case, I would probably ask her to dance like Embry and Quil had done.

"There's someone I like." I confessed.

"Good. There's someone I like too. His name is Dexter."

"Morgan?" I joked.

She laughed.

"No...not Dexter Morgan. You'd be dead by now."

It was my turn to laugh. I imagined a fight between a serial killer and a giant wolf. Not even Dexter Morgan had a chance against us.

"And where's that Dexter? Is he here?"

"He's coming over tomorrow. That's why I came with Lauren to Forks. There's a surf competition in Port Angeles."

"So your boyfriend is a surfer too?"

"Yes. But he's not my boyfriend...yet."

Leigh and I were basically on the same position. We liked someone but we didn't have a relationship with that person yet.

"Are you going to enter the competition?" I asked.

"No. Not this one. I'll just watch." She said. "Is there any good waves around here? I could use a swim."

I did not like the sound of it. Leigh had been drinking and everyone knows that you shouldn't swim after drinking.

"There is a beach nearby." Lauren piped in, joining us. Tyler was right behind her.

"I think I remember that the kids from La Push used to jump off the cliffs." Tyler said. "I've heard Bella even fell once."

Bella didn't fall, she had thrown herself off the cliffs because she was hallucinating, but that was in the past.

"Rumours travel fast, huh?" I commented and Tyler shrugged.

"Forks' a small place."

"Let's stop talking about Bella, shall we?" Lauren suggested. "I'm sure that wherever she is now, she's happy and safe." I understood the coldness on Lauren's voice. Apparently Bella wasn't on her good side.

"Does anyone want to show me that beach?" Leigh asked.

"We could throw a party there. I mean...this is getting old in here." Lauren took her wallet out of her purse and grabbed a credit card. "I'll pay for the food and drinks. And you..." She turned to me. "Make sure your friends come too."

"You realise it's dangerous to be on a beach at night?" I asked Leigh when she got up.

"The beach will never be a dangerous place to me. Now lead the way."

Not all of the pack went with us to First Beach. Paul, Ethan, Clay, Sully, Justin, Jason, Rick, Shane and Gary said they'd be joining us as soon as the Seven Sins closed for the night.

"If I know that you cheated on my sister, I'll personally kill you Lahote." I told Paul before we left the night club. He just smirked.

"It's not my fault all the girls find me hot."

I growled at him. I didn't like Paul much but I didn't want him to hurt my sister either.

"It's alright Black." He said in a serious tone now. "I'm not going to cheat on Rachel. She's my imprint and my girlfriend. I'm just having fun. I'll join you and the others in a couple of hours, okay?"

I couldn't force him to come with us so I left Paul with the younger ones, even though I had my doubts that he'd be able to put on eye on them.

Lauren's group went on ahead to buy food and drinks and when they reached First Beach, they were a solid group of fifteen people. Five cars parked beside my Rabbit and Quil's old pick-up truck. There was beer, vodka, whisky, and all types of liquorish drinks one could think of.

We started a fire and a group of teenagers from Forks, sat down on the sand. I didn't know any of them but no one seem to care as long as there was music and drinks.

I saw Embry with Tara near the trees, a few feet away. They were kissing and I felt a bit jealous. I wish that Leah was there with us. With me. It wouldn't matter if she'd kiss me or not, I just wanted her company even though we'd end up arguing.

"Becky asked me out." Quil said sitting down next to me handing me a beer. "She's staying here for two weeks."

"What about Claire?"

"Claire? Jake...she's three years old. I don't even know if I'm going to survive the battle against the Italians."

"Of course you will."

"Look...I know Claire's my imprint but I'm fine knowing she's safe with her parents right now. Besides, we don't know if I'll still be a wolf when she turns sixteen. By then I might have stopped phasing and maybe the imprint bond will break." He said. "Becky is funny and she likes me...why can't I have fun too?"

"You can do whatever you want Quil. I'm your alpha, not your father."

"Cool. In that case, I'm going to join Becky and you..." He hesitated. "Try to have fun with Leigh. I think she likes you."

"Leah?" I looked around to see if Leah was there. Then I realised my mistake. Quil had said Leigh not Leah.

As soon as he left, Leigh took his place beside me.

"You don't live too far, do you?" She asked.

"No...just a couple of miles south."

"Do you have a surfboard?"

"No." I lied. I had one. Just like every kid on the Reservation but I wasn't going to give it to her so she could kill herself.

"It was worth to ask. I guess I'll have to go for a swim instead."

"Are you crazy? The water must be freezing."

"I'm used to it."

Leigh put down her beer and walked towards the water. I followed her to make sure she wouldn't do anything stupid. A memory of what happened between Leah and I the night I had asked her to be my beta came into my mind.

"Tyler said you used to jump off the cliffs."

I pointed up to the cliffs.

"Yeah. From up there."

"And you're worried the water's freezing?" She inquired. "Are you all insane? Not even a professional diver jumps that high!"

"No one got hurt...so far."

She took off her leather jacket and then her tennis shoes and her jeans. Her body was athletic like Leah's but she wasn't as tall. Leaving only her t-shirt on, Leigh entered the cold water.

"You were right, it's freezing." She said.

"Get out. You'll catch a cold."

I looked back to see if one of Leigh's friends could help me convincing her to leave the water but no one was paying attention to us. Tara and Embry were nowhere to be seen, Quil was making out with Becky near the fire, Lauren and Tyler were lying down on the sand holding hands.

Farther away, Seth, Brady, Collin, Denis, Martin and Caleb were playing football with Tyler's friends. A group of three girls was drinking non-stop while another girl was making out in one of the cars with her boyfriend. By the sounds they were making, they were pretty close to second base.

Surrounded by dark waters, Leigh swam further and then dived, coming up a few seconds later while I watched her. She was a good swimmer but those were dangerous waters.

"Don't you want to join me?" She suggested. To tell the truth there was a part of me that wanted to join her but at the same time, I didn't want to cross that line. What would Leah do if she learned I had been swimming with a half-naked girl in First Beach? Would she be jealous? Or would she just ignore me?

"Don't go any further." I warned Leigh. "The water is pulling you in."

"What?" She yelled back. The music was too loud and she couldn't listen to me. I guess I would have to go get her.

I took off my tennis shoes and my shirt and dived in after her.

"You changed your mind?" She asked me.

"You should stay close to the shore. You don't know these waters." I told her.

"I'm a surfer. I know enough about the water."

As she said that a wave crashed almost on top of us. Leigh dived in but she wasn't fast enough so when she came back to the surface she was coughing and another wave crashed again on us. This time Leigh was caught off guard but I managed to hold her hand and pull her out of the middle of the crashing waves.

When she recovered, she followed me back to the sand and we both sat down near the water.

"That was intense." She conceded. "I never thought the waves could be so wild here. Thanks for coming after me."

"You're welcome. Now come on, let's get you warm." I stretched an arm to help her getting up and when she touched me she realised something was wrong.

"You're too warm. Are you sick?"

"No. I've always had a high temperature." I lied.

"Are you sure?"

What was I supposed to say? That I was a giant wolf on my free time?

"I'm fine, really."

"We could stay here..." She said. Her arms were now wrapped around my neck and she was in her tiptoes.

"What about Dexter?" I asked, understanding what she was implying.

"He's not my boyfriend...I kind of like him but he never paid much attention to me." She was grinding herself against me now. "I think I can forget about him for tonight. Can you forget the girl you like too?"

Everything in my life was about options. In this moment I was required to choose again. I could choose to take Leigh behind the rocks and spend the night with her or I could take her to her friends.

I could choose to be with a girl for the first time, or decline the opportunity.

Leigh was beautiful, smart and she'd be gone soon. She was from California and a one night stand would not create any kind of bonds between us. We would forget about each other. This was a win-win situation. I'd be able to burn off some steam and Leigh would get whatever she wanted. And in the next morning we'd get on with our lives. I'd be preparing myself to battle and she'd be going to Port Angeles to see Dexter.

On the other hand, why should I sleep with this girl, when who I really wanted was Leah Clearwater? I would spend the night with Leigh imagining she was Leah. What was the point of that? I wanted the real thing, not a replacement.

It was time to make a choice.

"You're a great girl, Leigh. But you're drunk and I don't think this is a good idea."

"I'm not _that_ drunk. I promise."

"Let's join the others." I pulled her with me over to the fire after collecting her clothes. With her ego a bit bruised, Leigh chose to stay away from me for the rest of the night.

Only then, I let myself enjoy the night. I drank as much as I could, I played with the others, I smoked weed and I even walked on fire literally. Since we were all drunk as hell, no one actually gave a damn about my healing abilities.

When the drinks and food ran out, Lauren and her group started to leave. Paul and the others had arrived an hour ago and most of my friends were sleeping in the sand. I heard Embry and Quil saying goodbye to Tara and Becky.

"I'm going to crash in here. I can't drive back home." Quil said. He was wasted like everyone else, including me. It wouldn't be the first time we'd spend the night at First Beach. Plus we were close to the Reservation.

"Someone needs to take Shane home." Paul announced. "I think he's about to pass out."

"Give me the car keys." Embry asked Quil. I saw Paul helping him to put Shane in the back of Quil's truck and then they drove off taking Clayton and Caleb as well.

"I need to go home too." Seth told me. "Leah will have a fit if I don't go home."

"Okay...Let's go then..." I pushed myself up and walked to the Rabbit. And then I began a fierce battle with the key to open the door. I knew I had too much alcohol in my system to drive but I didn't want Leah to come looking for her brother and find us all sleeping on the beach. She'd probably kick my ass.

"I'm feeling sick." Seth complained.

"So am I."

I finally managed to open the door and I let myself in hitting the wheel in the process. Seth sat down next to me and then I spent the next five minutes trying to find the damn key under the seat when I was actually holding it in my left hand.

"Are we there yet?" Seth asked me.

"I didn't even start the engine yet."

"Really? Because I feel my head going up and down...I thought we were half way by now."

I tried to keep my speed at the limit so we wouldn't get caught by the police. The Council wouldn't like that at all.

"Hey Jake...I'm not feeling well."

"Hang on..."

"But I feel like crap."

"So do I."

"How much did you drink?"

"I have no idea."

Seth put his head back on the seat and closed his eyes. I wanted to do the same but I was driving.

"How much did you drink?" I asked him. Truth to be told I think that was the first time Seth had gone to a night club and probably the first time he had gotten drunk.

"I don't know but I feel like I'm dying."

"Drama queen. I'm the one who should be complaining."

"Why?"

"I had a girl all over me tonight and I kind of…dismissed her."

"Why?"

"Because I think I'm in love with your sister." There I had finally said it.

"Oh shit! Stop the car!"

I hit the brakes and Seth only had time to open the door and put his head out. When he was done throwing up he closed the door and I started the car again.

"Did you say you're in love with my sister?"

"Yes…I did, didn't I?"

"Are you insane?"

"I might be a little drunk." I confessed. "Actually a few weeks ago I did think I was insane, I'm mean Leah's a harpy, she's even cruel sometimes…how can I love someone who's constantly reminding me that my dad might have cheated on my mother? Right? I don't know either Seth, all I know is that I've been having these dreams about her and I feel funny when she's around…"

"Funny?"

"It's like I'm nervous but at the same time I feel comfortable having her around me. And I want to kiss her…a lot Seth!" Seth was looking at me like I had grown two heads. "I want to kiss her all the time. I almost did it the night I went to your house after coming back from my trip. You weren't home and she was asleep and I went to her bedroom and I almost kissed her."

It felt good to take that out of my chest. It was good to tell someone that I was in love with Leah. I hated to have secrets but I was being na idiot because I was talking to her brother, who was also a wolf.

"This is wrong, Jake. You can't do this to Leah."

"I'm not doing anything. I haven't even told her yet."

"Then don't tell her. She doesn't need another Sam…"

"I'm not Sam!"

"You'll be just like Sam when you imprint on some girl. My sister doesn't need that crap again. Do you have any idea what it was like to hear her cry to sleep every night? She lost everything Jake! Don't put her through this again."

"But I can't stop thinking about her."

"Just think about someone else's sister."

"What if I can make her happy?"

"You can't! You'll give her hope and then you'll break her heart. My sister is not a piece of trash! Don't mess with her!" Seth glared at me. "And stop the damn car!"

He threw up again. Fortunately I was fast enough and he didn't do it inside the Rabbit. If he did, I'd kill him.

"I'm in love with her Seth." I said when he closed the door. "I don't know how it happened. It took me some time to understand my feelings, but now I know. It's her...It's always been her."

"You're just saying that because you lost Bella."

"No. Bella has nothing to do with this."

"Leah will be your rebound girl."

"No, she won't."

"Then tell me what would you do if Edward died in the battle against the Volturi and left Bella all alone?"

I tried to think of an answer but I didn't know.

"Edward's immortal. He can read minds. He won't die. And I want a chance with Leah. I'm not asking permission...I'm only telling you this because I'm your friend. If I wanted a rebound, a replacement I could've chosen any other girl. I would've spent the night with Lauren's friend, who was actually throwing herself at me...but I didn't. You know why?" Seth just stared at me without saying a word. "Because I want Leah. Because I don't need another girl, I need her...Because we're the same Seth. Leah and I are the same. We understand each other, we complete each other...She just doesn't know it yet but one day she will and when this stupid battle is over I'm going to tell her." I stated firmly.

"And then what? You're going to ask her out, propose to her and you'll live happily ever after, is that it?"

"We can have our happy ending too."

"No, you can't Jake. You're La Push's alpha. Either you want it or not, there's a soul mate for you out there and you'll find her maybe sooner than you think, and then what? What will you say to my sister when you find your imprint? 'I'm sorry Leah but I don't love you enough.' She's been there, Jake...and she hardly made it. She threw herself, on her own, against a newborn...Do you know what she thought the moment she understood she was going to lose the fight?"

I knew. It was a taboo topic for the pack but we all knew what Leah had thought in that moment. I'd saved her in the last minute and despite the pain I'd been through, I would do it all over again.

"She thought it would be better if she died! She thought no one would miss her! She thought it wasn't worth living if she couldn't have the kind of love that other people have! So don't you even think about messing with Leah's feelings...I will kill you if you hurt my sister! I almost lost her once...I'm not going to lose her again because of your stupid ideas!"

I noticed then that Seth was crying and even though I should be angry at him for that speech, I was kind of proud. Seth would always defend Leah, no matter what, and that was reinsuring. At least she'd never be alone as long as Seth was there.

"You're a nice kid, Seth." I conceded. "I'm proud to be your pack brother. I promise I won't hurt Leah but I can't promise I won't try to make her happy. If I see a small chance that she feels the same about me, I'll take it..."

"You won't say that after you imprint."

"An imprint doesn't compare to what I feel about her."

"You'll be worse than Sam."

"Sam didn't know what he wanted. I do. I want Leah...with or without the imprint."

"You're right. You and Leah are alike. You're both too stubborn."

"So...will you help me to keep her in La Push when the battle against the Volturi is over?"

"No."

"I'm your alpha...your best friend."

"She's my sister. I'll always do what's best for her."

"I'm what's best for her."

"She might like you a bit, Jake...but that doesn't mean you'll end up together."

"We will. With or without your help."

"Stop the car!"

"Again?" How much had the kid drank?

I arrived at the Clearwater's house almost an hour later with an almost unconscious Seth. It was around four in the morning. Leah was up in a flash and gave me a cold glare while I was taking Seth over to the bathroom.

Then I dragged my feet over to the couch. A few minutes later Leah placed Seth in his bed. I figured he had finally finished throwing up. Then I heard Leah's steps on the living room and I pretended to be sleeping. She called my father and told him I was going to spend the night over since I was too tired to drive home.

My father wasn't a fool, so he asked what was going on, but Leah didn't tell him anything. She spent a minute or two watching me, probably deciding if she should kick my ass or not, but then she left upstairs into her brother's bedroom where she spent the whole night.

Only then I fell asleep. My system burned the alcohol during the night so when I woke up in the morning the sickness was gone but I had a major headache. Leah was already in the kitchen.

"I'm sick." I whined when I joined her. It wasn't true but if I played the victim card maybe she'd be nice to me.

I sat down on a chair and placed my head on the table. I wanted her to take care of me like she'd done with Seth last night.

"If you bring my brother in that condition again, I will personally kill you." She threatened and placed a cup of coffee in front of me "Drink that."

She wasn't as nice to me as she was to her brother, but I guess I deserved it.

"Seth's all grown up now." I whispered.

"How the hell did you enter a night club? You're all underage."

I grinned. Was she really asking that question? I was over 6 feet tall, the shortest member of our pack was around 5'8". We were taller than any security guard. At the Seven Sins, one of them asked for our ID cards but Paul's growl made him pee in his pants.

I got up and walked towards Leah who was leaning against the kitchen counter. I caged her there, our bodies almost touching.

"Does it look like I'm underage?" I asked. I knew I was stepping the line but to be able to be so close to her and inhale her scent like that, I didn't care.

Leah seemed to be embarrassed at first, I could almost swear she blushed, but she recovered and pushed me back.

"You're in trouble, Jacob."

"I'm hungry." I whined again.

"You think I'm your maid?"

I tried the sad puppy eyes and she handed me the leftovers of her dinner: tuna pizza.

"How much did you drink?" She asked me.

"I stopped counting when I reached thirty."

Leah rolled her eyes.

"What about the others?"

I shrugged.

"The Council won't like to know about this."

"You'll be by my side, right?"

"How can I? You brought my brother back in a lousy condition, remember?"

"My daughter will not support any of your actions." Sue Clearwater had just materialised herself next to me.

"Good morning Sue." I tried to soothe her.

"Where's Seth?"

"In bed." Leah answered.

"I'm going to see if he's alright and then, we're going to meet the Council." She announced. "Shane's mother called me an hour ago."

I was in trouble alright. Not only because I'd have to face the consequences of our little adventure last night but also because in a few hours Seth would be recovered and he'd tell Leah I was in love with her.

Thinking about all the things Leah would do to me when she found out I felt like a dead man standing.

**To be continued...**

* * *

Special thanks: teamtorettosupporter, Blackwater Crazziii, Cracker679, TheSkeptic88, Jeakat, Tara Maria, Queen Leti, Firefly-class, MelkiSihou, brankel1, Kwop, MoliWood, rocklesson86.

I'd also like to thank everyone who added this story to their favourite's list.


	7. Ep 7 - Silent Jealousy

Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer not me.

Author/Note 1: This one-shot follows what happens during chapter 18 and 21 of _Our Dawn 2_. The pack is ready to fight the Volturi but there are a few details to take care of first. And during that time Jake struggles to find a way to save his friends and Leah.

A/Note 2: I'm not a native English speaker so I'm sorry for my grammar and spelling. Thank you for reading.

**_Our Dawn Series Specials_**

**_Episode Seven – Silent Jealousy_**

**_Jacob Black_**

"You were serious, huh?"

If I could I would've rolled my eyes when I saw Edward leaning against a tree right next to me. During the last minutes of my patrol, I had asked myself if this was finally the day I'd be able to patrol completely on my own. Apparently, it wasn't.

'_What are you talking about?' _

"Don't worry Jacob. Garrett is miles away from here. He won't come to La Push without your permission."

'_I don't trust him.'_

"Because he said Leah is beautiful? I guess you share his opinion." He laughed.

'_Because he's a leech.'_

"You pulled off quite an act today."

'_He made me angry. I reacted…Maybe I should've let Sam handle it but the way he spoke to her…it pissed me off.'_

"He was trying to get on your nerves, Jacob. And you fell for it too easily."

'_He shouldn't have flirted with Leah like that.'_

"He's a vampire. Garrett did find her attractive but vampires and wolves don't get along. Nothing will happen between them. You don't have to be jealous."

'_I'm not jealous!'_

Who the hell was I kidding? Even Embry had asked me what was wrong with me after I tried to attack Garrett. I told him I was just trying to protect our pack sister, but I didn't know if he believed me.

I knew that our species didn't get along but the way Garrett looked at Leah and the way she had handled the situation made me angry beyond belief. She should've just slapped him and not encourage the stupid leech.

"Embry isn't the only one thinking like that, you know? You're just lucky that Seth doesn't remember a word about your conversation in the car the night of your little adventure at Seven Sins and First Beach."

For once, Edward was right. I was able to keep my secret thanks to Seth's amnesia. I could've grabbed that opportunity to come clean about my feelings but I decided not to do it until this mess with the Italians was over.

Now I regretted that decision because things had actually gotten worse. Ever since my idea of having fun that night, the Council wasn't too happy about my performance as alpha. Sue was pretty furious with me because of Seth.

I got off the hook and wasn't punished thanks to Leah and Sam, who backed me up but I knew Sam wasn't happy with my late actions and he would make sure to remind me of what I had done as much as he could.

Things turned for the worse when I caught Paul with my sister. I probably shouldn't have reacted the way I did, but I kind of lost it there. I was slowly getting used to the idea that one day, maybe not too far into the future Paul Lahote would be my brother-in-law. However that didn't mean I was happy about it. So when I saw him kissing Rachel like that, in the middle of the forest, I snapped and kicked his ass into a pulp.

I even attacked Leah when she tried to separate us. If the rest of the pack hadn't arrived I could've killed them both. The Council was displeased with my late actions and I did have to face the consequences of my lack of judgement but I was the one who was most displeased with myself.

Paul deserved having his ass kicked but Leah was only trying to help. I had injured her on her shoulder and neck and I felt that an apology wasn't enough to make up to her.

"She has forgiven you already." Edward said and I suddenly remembered he was still there with me.

'_I know.'_

"You should've kissed her in the car. She would've kissed you back."

'_Or she would've destroyed my car, killed me and buried my body in the woods…maybe not in this order.'_

"I gave you the best chance you could hope for and you didn't take it." He sighed. "At least you apologised and managed to make her heartbeat faster. You noticed that, didn't you? How her heartbeat increased when you touched her?"

'_What the hell…Were you watching us?'_

I was mortified. Edward had no right to spy on us. Especially when we were alone. What if we had kissed?

"I only watched you for a while." He confessed. "And during our trip to South America I saw you and Leah doing a lot more."

'_Those were dreams. This is real life. You have no right to do that. What kind of a perverted bastard are you?'_

"I'm not the only one who spies on other people."

I went behind a tree and phased back.

"I don't spy on people either." I defended myself.

"I can read your mind, Jacob. You watched Leah a few times...in her sleep."

"I don't spy on people." I repeated. "I wasn't spying on her, I was checking..."

"Whatever."

"You used to spy on Bella, and now you spy on me and Leah. You're way creepier than me."

"Fine…you win." He accepted. "So, you're going to talk to her after the Volturi return to Italy?"

"That's the plan."

"And how are you going to do that when she pretends to leave too?"

"I'll find a way."

"Really? There are only a couple of things that would make her stay. I would advise you to skip the love declaration part and go right into the part where you knock her up, but Leah seems to be barren so…I'm not seeing any other option for you…" He smiled at me. "Tell her!"

"I'll tell her when I think she's ready."

"You know we're running out of time, right? And since you're involved in this, Alice can't see the future so there's no way to know if you're all going to survive. Don't you think you should just hurry up?"

"Why don't you go home and watch a movie or something?"

"Talking to you is way more interesting." Edward mocked.

"Tell me something, leech…Do you trust the vampires we recruited? Are we safe with them around?"

"I assure you none of the recruited vampires will cross the border. You have my word."

"And do you trust they won't join the Volturi?"

"That… I can't assure you. I know that Vladimir and Stefan won't because they hate the Volturi too much…I don't think Charlotte and Peter will either because they're loyal to Jasper but the rest of them…I can't say for sure." Edward said. "Why? What are you planning to do?"

"Something to save my people."

"You're planning to ask the Council to allow the younger wolves to tell the truth to their families?" He read my mind.

"Yes."

"Isn't that a bit…too much? I mean too many people will know about the wolf gene and about us. And they might not understand."

"It will only be on last resort and there are people who deserve to know. Embry's mum for example. He's all she has left and she's always worried about him."

"I see…well there is something I want you to know about the Volturi…actually it's about Aro." Edward said.

"The big boss?"

"Yes. Aro is one of the oldest vampires I know. He's also one of the most intelligent people I've met. Most of his actions are based on his century-old experience and the things he can see in other people's minds."

"He can read minds, just like you, right?"

"My ability is an evolution of his. He needs to touch people to read their thoughts, I don't."

"Oh joy…" I mocked.

"Anyways…Aro has this fascination about vampires with abilities."

"You've told us. He's mostly after Alice's power."

"Yes, he does want Alice's ability more than anything else but he might also find interest in your pack."

"My pack? Why? We're their enemies. There's nothing interesting about us."

"Unlike Caius or Marcus, Aro will realise immediately that you're different from the Children of the Moon. And he even might ask you to join them in Volterra."

"That will never happen." I assured him. I would never let anyone from my pack go with those leeches.

"The thing is…he will also realise that you have someone unique in your pack."

_Leah._ I realised immediately.

"Exactly. She is the only female shifter to ever exist. Aro collects unique people… if he learns about her he'll probably try to recruit her, he might even coerce her to go with them."

"No way!" I could feel my blood boiling now. I would never let the leech mob mess with Leah. Never. "Over my dead body!"

"That's why I wanted to tell you this. Now you can find a way to protect what is yours." Edward grinned. I knew what he was trying to do. "And I'm not talking about the Reservation." He added.

"Yeah, I know you're not." I replied with a small grin.

_I do wish I can call her mine soon._ I thought.

"Yeah, I know you do." He whispered leaving.

xxxxxxxxxx

"Don't you want to see Becca again?" I asked Rachel that morning. Now that the Council had agreed with my proposal, I was trying to convince my sister to leave the Reservation for a week so she wouldn't be in danger when the Volturi arrived.

"Of course I do but I also want to stay."

"You won't be able to do anything to help us, Rach." Paul said. For the first time in many months, we were finally working together. Our priority was to keep my sister safe and if that meant I'd have to be nice to Paul Lahote, than I'd be nice to him.

"You will make Paul worry about you and when a wolf is worried about his imprint, he might not fight the way he should."

"Jake is right. Please, go see your sister. I'm sure she'll be really happy to see you."

That would be an understatement. Becca was going to flip. Rachel and Becca were identical twin sisters with a bond that no one in the family could explain. When they were young, they used to do everything together; they even completed each other's sentences.

When Becca met the surfer guy she married with and left to live in Hawaii, Rachel fell into a depression that she was only able to overcome when she left to the University. She told dad that to be in La Push without Rebecca would be too difficult for her to bear.

Now she had Paul, so it was easier for her to be here with us but we knew she missed Rebecca terribly.

"You can tell her that we miss her and maybe she'll come with you for a visit." I suggested.

"I don't have the money Jake. Do you know how expensive it is?"

"I'll pay."

"You? With what money?"

"I have my own resources, sis." I was going to use the money I had won with the bet. I had passed all the exams and I had finished High school. All of the Cullens, except for Bella had bet against me and I had won a lot of money.

"Look Jake, I appreciate it but I can't accept."

"Please, Rachel." Paul begged. "I can't even think about losing you. Can you please listen to us just this once?"

"What if..." She looked from one of us to another. "What if you two fight again?"

"We won't. I promise." We both said at the same time.

"What if you...die?"

"No one will die, Rachel. You have my word." I promised her. "You're my sister and I want you safe. We won't die that easily."

"But you said they're very strong and have special abilities. You said there are too many of them."

"They might have the numbers but we have our own weapons." I assured her.

"Like what?"

"The Cullens." Paul replied. "Bella's a shield. They can't hurt her. Alice can see the future and Jasper can control emotions."

"Not to mention that Edward can read minds. He'll know our enemies plans right away." I added. "We'll be fine."

"And what will I tell Becca?"

"Whatever you want. Tell her you were missing her too much. I mean you don't see each other for what? Two years?"

"Three years and four months." Rachel replied.

"That's a lot of time. While you're there you can tell her about Paul, about how you decided to move back with us... but you can't tell her what we are or about the Cullens, okay?"

Rachel nodded.

"Okay. I'll go. But you have to promise me you'll keep me posted."

We agreed with her condition. Rachel hugged me briefly and then kissed Paul.

"Can you ask dad to go with you?" I asked.

"Dad? You're too naïve, Jake. Dad will never leave. He would never leave you behind."

I knew Rachel was right. A few hours earlier I had tried to convince my father to go to Hawaii as well and I had failed. He'd told me that even though he wanted to see his daughter again, he would never leave his own son behind. I was thankful but this meant he'd be in danger.

_One more person for me to worry about. _I thought to myself sadly. It was obvious, from the beginning, that I wouldn't be able to save everyone. At least my father would stay in the Reservation. Leah, on the contrary would be right in the middle of the danger zone.

I wish I could keep her safe but Leah was a protector like us, she would want to fight until the very end and would not accept to be left behind.

xxxxxxxxxx

Before Rachel could leave to Hawaii we had yet another family crisis to endure. Paul was going to take my sister to Seattle Airport when Aunt Connie arrived. She didn't use to visit often. Actually she hadn't visited us since my mother had passed away. We never knew why but as I grew up I realised Aunt Connie and dad had different opinions about almost everything. There were rumours that they had a heated argument many years ago and didn't speak to each other ever since.

"What the hell have you been saying to my boy, Jacob?" She demanded when I opened the door.

"I don't understand…"

"You told him he's a wolf? What kind of an idiot tells that to a kid?"

"Aunt Connie, this is not Jake's fault." Rachel tried to defend me. She was carrying her bags into the living room.

"This is why I wanted to have your custody when Sarah died. Your father made you believe in those stupid stories, didn't he?"

"My father did nothing wrong." I stated.

"Jacob, you can't expect me to be okay with this. I mean my son comes up to me and tells me he's a protector of La Push and that I should go away from the reservation as soon as possible because a group of vampires is coming over and he and his pack are the only ones who can fight them off because you're all wolves."

"Collin spoke the truth." I told her. That only made her angrier.

"What kind of drugs are you taking? Where's your father? I need to speak to him."

"Dad's with old Quil and I doubt he can solve this." I walked outside and my aunt, Rachel and Paul followed me.

"Jake, you're obviously living in some sort of dream land. You've changed a lot since you started being friends with Sam Uley but you can't drag my boy into that madness."

"It's not madness, Aunt Connie." I smiled. "Show her Paul."

To my surprise Paul didn't even complain. Probably he wanted Rachel to believe that we'd get along just fine after her departure to Hawaii.

"Rachel go grab something of mine so Paul can wear after this." I asked. Rachel nodded and went inside.

Paul walked a few feet away from us. Since I didn't have any nearby neighbours, he could simply phase without the danger of being seen.

"Aunt Connie, what you're about to see is not a dream, a nightmare or your imagination. Please try to remain calm."

Paul grinned and then he phased, shredding his clothes on the process. Aunt Connie's face was priceless. I didn't know if she was going to scream or faint. She kept her eyes glued to the grey wolf in front of us and only when she saw him move, she regained her voice.

"What's that?" She asked grabbing my arm. I could feel her nails digging on my skin.

"A giant wolf...actually I think the correct name is shape shifter."

"What?"

"Paul can turn into a wolf. Just like me, Collin and many other boys in La Push."

"This is a trick. Where's Billy?"

"It's not a trick. I thought so too...at first." Rachel said coming back with clothes for her boyfriend.

"Is he going to attack us?" Aunt Connie asked when she realised Paul was coming closer.

"No. He's here to protect you." I explained.

"Protect me? From what?"

"Monsters." Rachel offered.

"This is crazy. I can't believe I saw a kid…changing…into a…" Her voice died once again.

"It's not that bad, Aunt Connie." My sister said. Then Paul came forward and she understood he wanted to phase back.

Aunt Connie watched as Paul trotted off behind my house with Rachel.

"Is she going to be okay, alone with him?"

I could've tried to explain to her that Paul had imprinted on my sister and would never hurt her, but my aunt was already dealing with too many information for now.

"Rach will be fine."

"This is not possible, Jake. People can't do this…I mean change into wolves…This is not real. My Collin is a normal boy. He's normal…"

"He's nothing but normal but that's not his fault. Actually…Collin's a wolf because of you. His gene comes from the Black family."

"There's a gene?"

"Yes. Passed on from generation to generation."

"So…this is real? Wolves? The gene?"

"That's what I'm telling you for the last five minutes. The legends are real. What Collin told you is real. So if you want your family to be safe, you'll do what he asked you to do. You will leave La Push with Uncle Kevin and when you return, dad and I will be here to welcome you back and answer all your questions."

She was mute after that.

xxxxxxxxxx

I thought I'd have time to figure out some way to protect Leah from Aro but time was running short and the Cullens wanted to supervise our last training session. They had even brought witnesses. The four leeches observed carefully as we phased and practiced.

I should be paying attention to the information the Cullens were giving us about Alice's latest vision but all I could see was the way Garrett was watching Leah.

_She's mine, fuck face._ I wanted to scream at him. _I won't let you have her._

I knew I was being stupid. I knew Garrett was just being an idiot and Leah would never consider dating him. She hated vampires with passion. She didn't even like the Cullens much. But something in Garrett's flirting jokes was making me react that way. Jealousy had a huge say in it too even though I had nothing to worry about.

All I knew was that I could barely control myself every time Garrett looked at Leah. The four vampires were clearly impressed with us, with our forms and our speed; however Garrett was much more interested in watching Leah fight with Alice than anything else that was going on around him. I could see his red eyes shining brighter every time she passed near him. My anger was rising while my patience was slipping away. Of course Leah was probably the most interesting wolf in my pack. She was unique after all but the way Garrett could undress her with his eyes was making me feel uneasy about his presence in La Push.

Besides Edward had told me once that Garrett did find her attractive and even had a few unclean thoughts about her. Just like me, Garrett wasn't too good keeping his sexual fantasies from Edward.

So when the practice was over and we joined the leeches, it wasn't a shock when I hit Garrett after I caught him flirting Leah again. Sam, Embry, Seth e Brady had to drag me away from him, otherwise I would have killed him. He had told me to take Leah as my mate while I still could, because she was rightfully mine since I was the alpha wolf because if I didn't he would continue to try his luck. Afterwards he insulted me saying I was just a pup and had nothing to offer her. An insult I could let it pass, but threats I couldn't stand. She would never be his.

We were lucky that Garrett didn't take that incident too seriously otherwise our allies would have left us immediately. But in that moment I didn't care.

"He's a vampire, a leech, he's not really interested in Leah." Sam said when he released me. We had left the clearing and were in the forest, halfway from the Reservation.

"Come on Sam…he looked pretty interested in her." Embry agreed with me. I could tell Leah wasn't happy with my outburst or Embry's words.

"I totally agree with Embry." I said. "And you…stop provoking that leech!" I added to her.

"You're joking, right?" She glared in my direction. She was scary when she was angry, but she was also pretty hot.

"Your little romance with stupid Garrett is distracting us from our goal. We have to focus on the battle. We can't be constantly worried about you and making sure you don't get yourself in trouble."

"I don't need anyone to protect me, you idiot!" She snarled. "I know how to take care of me and I can date whoever I want…My life is none of your concern. You're not my father."

"I'm your alpha!" I never intended to say that but it slipped. My voice was laced with something more than jealousy, it was possessiveness. Fortunately no one seemed to notice. "You have a thing for leeches now?" I added trying to keep my ground.

"I guess I'm not the only one, am I?" She shot back. She knew the game. She knew where she could hit me.

"Leah… Jake's right. Leave Garrett with us, okay? We can protect you." Seth touched his sister's arm to calm her down. Leah rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, we can take him anytime. After all we have to protect each other, we're family." Brady announced with a smile.

Everyone nodded, agreeing with Brady.

"Besides we're the only ones who have the right to call you sexy." Embry joked. She glared daggers at him.

"Embry, you're talking about my sister man…" Seth complained.

I did like the fact that all of my friends wanted to protect Leah. She was one of us after all. But I also felt incredibly jealous. I could deal with Seth's protectiveness towards his sister, they were biological siblings and had always been close to each other, but Brady and Embry seemed a little bit too much for me to let it go that easily.

"Shut up, all of you!" Sam ordered. "Let's calm down, okay?"

"Just stay away from that leech." I faced Leah. "And if any of you find Garrett in our lands, I want to be the first to know because I'm going to rip his limbs one by one!"

"I wish you were this helpful when I asked you to help me getting rid of Gladis at Sam's wedding." Quil complained.

"You were having fun." I opposed recalling that episode. Gladis was eighteen years old and was famous for her numerous one-night stands. Quil was only one of the guys she had tried to get to bed on that occasion. When the party was over I'd seen her leave with Ryan, an old friend of Sam.

"You're talking about my cousin Glaydin?" Jared questioned surprised.

"Yes, Glaydin…" Quil confirmed. "I'm sorry Jared, but she's a whore."

"Let's go home." I called.

Leah stayed behind.

"Leah?" I called her. I didn't want her to stay there when Garrett was still in the clearing. Everyone else was already ahead of us.

"What now, Black?" She asked when I was next to her.

"You should start wearing more clothes…" I suggested.

Since she had become a wolf Leah wore tinny shorts and tops which left little to the imagination. I didn't want her walking around Garrett and the other leeches dressed like that.

Leah was looking at me completely shocked. Truth to be told I had no right to tell her how to dress.

"You know…something to cover you a little more." I added and before she could explode or decided to rip my head off, I left off joining the others. We were almost at the small stream of water which was the border between our lands and the Cullen's territory when Bella reached us.

"Jake!" She called. "Can we speak in private?"

"Sam, can you organise patrols?"

"Sure." He nodded.

Leah was following behind us when she noticed Bella and I saw her roll her eyes. She wasn't happy.

"I can't date Garrett, but he can act like a puppy around Bella." She whispered. I preferred to ignore the comment. I wasn't going to argue with her in front of Bella.

"Come on Leah. Mum and Charlie are waiting for us." Seth called. She gave me one last glance and disappeared.

Bella waited for a while until all of my friends were gone.

"What the hell was that Jake?" She inquired.

"What was what?"

"That thing with Garrett?"

I shrugged. No harm was done. The leech was fine. _Unfortunately._

"He started it."

"He did not. You did. You punched him first."

"So? He's fine, isn't he? I was just trying to…help Leah."

"Leah doesn't need your help. But we need Garrett and the others. Aro will be here soon. Our best chance to win this battle is to follow Edward's plan and you almost ruined everything with that stunt. They're our allies, not our enemies."

A guy who looked at Leah like that was no ally of mine. And I didn't care about our alliance with the vampires that much to bother myself apologising.

"I'm trying Bella. But if I remember correctly, I've warned Garrett many times about coming here and opening his stupid mouth. If he leaves Leah alone, this will never happen again, if he keeps doing this, I'll have no other option but kill him."

"It was a joke, Jacob! He was just trying to get a reaction from her. You can't go around and punch every guy who talks to Leah Clearwater. You're not her boyfriend, or her father."

_Leave it to Bella to remind me of such thing._ I thought feeling annoyed.

"I'm her alpha." I stated. "And he insulted me! He called me a puppy!"

"Now you're acting like a little kid. And if I didn't know you better, I'd say you're jealous."

I was quiet for a few minutes. If only she knew.

"It's my job as the alpha wolf to guarantee the safety of my pack and my people. I don't like the way Garrett talks to Leah and I don't think it was a joke. I won't let any leech mess with my...pack." I said.

"Then maybe you should lock her up in her house to keep her safe and away from everyone." She suggested with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "Leah's a big girl, Jake. I think she can handle a few improper comments, don't you think?"

"I don't trust him…you can't blame me. We're wolves…it's in our nature to hate and distrust vampires."

"I know you don't hate me."

_Well I'm not your biggest fan right now either._ I thought bitterly. Was she testing my patience? Was she really lecturing me because I had fought a damn leech who had told me I wasn't man enough for Leah?

"Bella, I got it…I can't walk around hitting our allies. I promise it won't happen again, okay?"

She sighed. She knew I was just saying that to please her.

"I know it's being difficult for you too." She confessed. "I'm also worried about us…our families, our friends, our loved ones. When I was in Volterra with Alice and Edward I never felt more scared in my life. I had bad dreams about Aro, Caius, Marcus, Jane and Alec for almost a whole month. In those dreams, they would kill everyone I loved and I couldn't do a thing to help. Now I can but I need you to step up to your role and act like a true leader."

"Fine."

"Good. Now Edward told me about your problem…"

"What problem?" I cut her off. "I don't have problems…" I was going to kill Edward if he dared to tell anyone about my feelings for Leah. He had no right.

"He said you want to protect everyone but you don't know how."

"Oh…yes, well…I just want to make sure everyone will be alright."

"So do I. That's why I want you to do something for me."

"What?"

"If we go to battle with the Volturi, I want you to take your pack and go."

I blinked once and then twice but Bella didn't say anything else.

"Go? Where?" I questioned.

"I don't know…Just leave La Push and go somewhere safe until they leave. I've seen them fight and I've seen Jane's ability. I don't want you or your pack to deal with her because she will win."

"I know our chances are small but we don't even know if we'll have to fight."

"Jacob…all that is happening is my fault. I can't live if something bad happens to you or one of your friends. Please do what I'm asking."

"We're protectors Bella. We don't run away from our duty."

"You're seventeen years old. Seth is what? Fifteen? What about Denis? You're all too young to die. You deserve a future."

"We accepted what we are a long time ago. And this is not entirely your fault."

"I'm trying here Jacob. I'm trying to do the right thing, I want to save as much people as possible. Edward told me you don't trust our allies and you think the Volturi might convince them to support them…this might end up bad for us and the people of Forks and La Push. If they decide to feed and kill innocent people how will I live knowing I caused the death of so many?"

I could see where she was going. I could relate. I also wanted my family and friends safe.

"Please…promise me Jake. Promise me you'll leave with your friends if something goes wrong."

"Why is that so important to you?"

"Because you're my friend. One of my dearest friends…I don't want anything bad to happen to you. I've managed to help almost everyone by now…"

"Everyone? What do you mean by that?"

"I've managed to convince almost every family to leave La Push for a few days."

"Seriously? How did you do that? And why?"

"Because I want to be able to sleep at night."

"You're a vampire, you don't sleep."

"It's a figure of speech."

I shrugged.

"Edward told me that you asked the Council to allow the other pack members to tell their families the truth about us and the wolf gene."

"Is there anything that retard doesn't tell you?"

"We're married…we share everything."

"Whatever… So you went talking to my friends' parents and told them what?"

"I actually used Siobhan's powers." She confessed.

"Siobhan? You brought a vampire to speak to my friends' families without my consent? Are you crazy?"

"Jasper came too…Just in case. But his ability wasn't needed. Siobhan promised she wouldn't hurt anyone and she kept her word."

"What's her ability?"

"She can make people do what she wants."

"That's useful. We can use her against the Volturi."

"It doesn't work with vampires. Only humans. Besides… she didn't believe she had that power until now but she fears Aro too much to actually do something to antagonise the Volturi even more."

Typical. I guess vampires could chicken out as well.

"So… no one had to tell their parents the truth?" I asked Bella. So much for my effort.

"Some of your friends had already told them. Embry, Brady, Collin and Jared… This way only a few families know. It's better that way, right?"

"As long as their families are safe."

"So? Will you do what I asked? Please?" She put on a hopeful face and I decided not to destroy her hopes with a negative answer. So I crossed my fingers behind my back and told her I would run away with my pack if things didn't work out as planned.

She was happy when she left, and so was I because thanks to Bella I knew what I had to do to save my pack and save Leah.

xxxxxxxxxx

I had issued my first alpha command. I didn't feel proud about it but I was relieved. Relieved because my pack would have to follow my order and they would survive. Good idea or not I had spoken the words and it was too late to go back. They had tried to soothe me with optimistic words about the future after the Volturi were gone, but who knew we'd have a future after this?

I appreciated their words. They meant a lot to me, it was nice to know that they worried about me as much as I worried about them, but their words did not change my mind. It was my job, as their leader, to make sure they'd be alright.

From the moment I had told the pack my plans, I had followed Leah's every move. I still had an alpha command to issue and I wanted her to accept it without blood spilling. She looked anxious, nervous, stressed, but that was normal considering that in a few hours about sixty vampires would be here to exterminate us. I would have to take the risk.

"I won't change my mind Leah." I told her when she followed me inside the kitchen. I had to get more drinks and Leah had probably planned to talk to me privately to make me change my mind. That was my chance.

"Why not?" She asked annoyed.

"Put yourself in my place. What would you do if Seth died in this battle?" I turned to meet her and left the beers on the counter.

"Seth's not going to die but if that happened…" She hesitated. "I would not blame you." She finished and I could tell she was speaking the truth.

"It would be my fault. We all know that…" I said. Sadly it was true.

"Okay…maybe you'd be somewhat guilty but that doesn't mean you have to sacrifice yourself for us."

"Leah…I want Edward and Jasper's plan to work, but let's face it...Irina wants to kill us all and the Volturi will do everything to separate the Cullens. They're bringing an army and we need a miracle to win. There are great probabilities that some of us will die and I won't be able to live with myself if something like that happens to all of you. Denis is fourteen years old, just like Justin, Gary and Caleb. They're too young to die. What would I tell their families?"

"I understand your point of view but not all of us are that young. Some of us can help you…Sam, Embry, Quil, Paul, Jared… me."

"What about Emily, Embry's mother, Claire, Rachel, Kim and your mother? How would I face them?"

"What about Billy? What will happen to him if you die?" She retorted.

"Rachel will take care of our father. Maybe Becca will come home."

"Please Jacob. Reconsider. Let me stay with you. My mum has Seth and Charlie. I can stay…even if I die no one will care."

She was such an idiot. I cared about her and she was thinking that no one would miss her if she died. I wish I could make her understand how much she meant to me.

"No." I replied. "I don't want you to get hurt again. You were always against our alliance with the vampires. I should've listened to you."

"It's okay…I understand. I know you allowed Edward to change Bella because you love her and you didn't want to lose her. Actually they're not that bad…I really don't mind to stay and help them."

"Since when you're a Cullen's fan?"

I knew her well enough to know she was bluffing.

"If you let me stay with you I promise I'll never mock them."

I was surprised when she said that. Did she really want to help me? Or did she want to sacrifice herself as well? I shook my head. I couldn't take that risk. Leah was too unpredictable. I didn't want a replay from the fight against that newborn. She would've died if I hadn't reached her in time.

"Are you trying to redeem yourself or impress Bella?" Leah questioned when I didn't speak. She seemed a bit angry.

"Neither." I smiled a bit. "I don't mean to impress anyone. I just want to do what's right."

"Oh please…It's obvious that you want to stay to impress your ex-girlfriend who's now a leech…" Her icy voice made me wonder if she was jealous of Bella.

"If I didn't know you better I'd think you're jealous." I noticed the way she froze when I said that.

"I'm not…" She didn't finish the sentence because I came closer and without even noticing what I was doing, I placed my hands on her waist. Despite of what I had thought, she hadn't pushed me away. She had stopped breathing and her heartbeat was irregular. I never thought I'd be able to make her feel that way.

"I'm doing this for all of us…for you." I whispered taking in her scent. I wanted nothing more but to kiss her but I had to control myself. "If I die I want you to leave this place. I want you to follow your dream. Leave Sam behind and all the things that hurt you and try to stop phasing so you can have what you've always wanted…a family…kids…a normal life."

_I wish you could have all of that with me._ I thought. But I could die in this battle and I didn't want her to throw away her future for me.

She seemed surprised with my words especially because even though it wasn't an order it was laced with an alpha command.

I was doing this for her because her safety meant more to me than anything else. I knew she wanted to leave La Push after the battle with the Volturi and this way she would have a clean way out.

The silence between us made me realised how close we really were. Somehow our bodies were touching and her heart was pounding just like mine.

And then it hit me. Edward was right. Leah had feelings for me too. She probably didn't know it yet but if we remained alive after this mess, I'd make sure she would.

I never thought I'd actually feel happy in a time like this but when I heard her heart beating like that I finally realised we could still have our happy ending. Leah would wear that amazing silver wedding dress for me, we would have the most intense honeymoon ever, we would shock everyone with the announcement of Leah's pregnancy, we would see our kids playing in First Beach and I would make sure we would have a big family.

Now all I had to do was to make sure we would all survive.

**To be continued…**

* * *

Special thanks: teamtorettosupporter, Blackwater Crazziii, Cracker679, TheSkeptic88, Jeakat, Tara Maria, Queen Leti, Firefly-class, MelkiSihou, brankel1, Kwop, MoliWood, rocklesson86, crystal.

I'd also like to thank everyone who added this story to their favourite's list.


	8. Ep 8 - Unspoken

Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer not me.

Author/Note 1:This one-shot follows what happens during chapter 24 of _Our Dawn 2_. After the battle with the Volturi, the pack and the Cullens celebrate their victory having a bonfire at First Beach. That night becomes a turn point for Leah and Jacob as they finally give in into their emotions.

A/Note 2: I'm not a native English speaker so I'm sorry for my grammar and spelling. Thank you for reading.

**_Our Dawn Series Specials_**

**_Episode Eight - Unspoken_**

**_Jacob Black_**

I should've known things wouldn't be so easy. Since when were things easy when Leah Clearwater was involved? She had been avoiding me like the plague since the battle with the Volturi. All that I had done was to protect her but Leah thought otherwise.

In the midst of the battle I had given her an alpha command preventing her to phase and help the pack. I never meant to hurt her feelings, on the contrary, I hoped she'd see it as an act of chivalry. I had no such luck.

_I shouldn't have given her that alpha command. _I thought sadly. But what was done was done.

I sighed watching the sunset at First Beach. I was with Quil and Embry preparing a pile of wood to make a fire later on that night. Today we were going to celebrate our victory over the Italians two weeks ago.

The Cullens were coming too that was why we were going to have a bonfire. They had been the ones who had done most of the work. Edward and Carlisle managed to negotiate with the leeches and we didn't even need to ask our testimonies to come forward.

Jasper and Bella were able to neutralise the Volturi Guard and we all made it alive. The first days after the battle were too confusing to describe but within two weeks everyone was back and we could finally celebrate.

Many things had happened since then.

Thinking about the Cullens also gave me headaches frequently, especially since two days ago.

The vampires decided that it was time to leave Forks for a while. Carlisle had delivered his resignation letter to the Hospital Board, causing the Director to propose him a raise and a promotion to Chief of Surgeons. Carlisle politely declined. If they stayed longer people would start to notice they weren't getting old.

Two days ago Bella came to meet me when I was in the forest trying to put my thoughts in order. She wanted to tell me the good news. They had just bought a mansion and were going to redecorate the house entirely. The family's new home was in Dawson, Canada.

She had also come to me with a proposition. She seemed to think that I could use a break from the Reservation and from the pack, so she invited me to go with them. I tried not to sound too shocked when I asked her if she was serious. I did have a close relationship with her and I kind of liked Esme and Carlisle, but I couldn't stand Edward, Rosalie and Jasper. Alice and Emmett were anoying too though tolerable.

Apparently Bella was damn serious. She had even talked about it to her family and everyone approved, except for Rosalie. So It was now up to me.

She was surprised when I asked her a few days to think about it. Bella always thought I'd be excited to leave La Push for a while. Truth to be told, I had thought about it a few months ago after her wedding. Now I wasn't so happy about it even though I had actually promised Bella I'd always be by her side.

"So you haven't decided yet." Edward had just arrived with a huge bag full of homemade food. "Have you spoken to your father or the Council?"

"Yes. I told them you were leaving in a few days. My dad said he didn't mind if I decided to go too. He seems to think a lot like your wife."

"Does he?"

"Yes." I said rolling my eyes. My father, and other members of the Council, thought I should be rewarded by my amazing performance during the battle with the Volturi so they had agreed to let me choose what to do with my life.

"And what is it that my wife thinks Jacob?"

"You know what it is."

"I can't read Bella's mind, remember? You need to enlighten me."

"She thinks I need a break! She thinks I'll be happier if I go live with you to Canada." I practically yelled at him. "But that's not true! All I need is..."

"Leah." Edward finished for me. "You need to man up and tell her. She's thinking about leaving soon. Do you want to watch her leave and come with us to Canada, is that it?"

"No! I don't want to go with you to freaking Canada! But she doesn't speak to me. She thinks that I think she's weak. She accused me of treating her like a weakling human girl."

"You gave her that alpha command. It was a bad choice." Edward pointed out.

"I was protecting her! You told me to protect her from Aro, remember?"

"I never told you to use an alpha command and blaming me won't change anything. Either you tell her or you'll lose her for good. As simple as that."

"What can I do if she doesn't want to speak to me?"

"Use your imagination." He suggested.

"I don't know what to do... Why is she so complicated?" I complained.

"Women are complicated. It's a fact and you should deal with it. If you end up with Leah, you'll have to deal with complications every single day."

_End up with Leah? I'll be lucky if she speaks to me tonight... _I thought miserably. My chances to get my happy ending were now pretty slim. But Edward was right. I couldn't give up.

"I'll talk to her...tonight." I decided.

"Don't chicken out. This is your last chance. Unless you're planning on going after her..."

"Any advices on what to tell her?"

"Are you having any doubts?"

"You know I don't have doubts...I'm just..."

"Scared?"

"Shitless scared." I admitted. "What if she tells me she hates me?"

"I think you'll be surprised. Just tell her she matters. I think she'll like to hear that for once." He smiled and then he went to join the other vampires.

"I hope you're right otherwise...I'm a dead man."

Everyone seemed quite busy at the moment. Slowly people were arriving. Bella was explaining my father where Dawson was and what kind of things we could have access to in the city. She even suggested I should go to the University with them in the following year. Months ago I would have loved to know that Bella was concerned with me and my education. I would have given everything to go with her to the end of the world if she wanted me to but now I didn't want that anymore.

I scanned the beach and saw Embry with his mother. Tiffany Call had been reluctant to join us tonight but in the end she showed up and was actually speaking to Emily and Claire's parents, Lynn and Ron Young who had just arrived from the Makah Reservation.

Sam had his arm wrapped around Emily's shoulders but his eyes were stuck on the people who had just arrived at First Beach: Charlie, Seth, Sue and Leah.

Charlie went to join his daughter and Sue went to greet Esme and Carlisle. Seth stood by his sister for a while. Leah didn't even look my way when she joined the party. She was still angry.

I had tried to speak to her countless times in the past couple of weeks but she either ran from me or she always made sure we weren't alone.

Carefully I approached Seth who had just joined the younger members of the pack. The look on his face was enough for me to know that he had failed on the mission I had given him.

"She said she's not going to forgive you anytime soon. I'm sorry." He said before I could even ask.

"Did you tell her?"

"Yes. I told her you were sorry and you'd never do it again. I told her everything you asked me to. Every single word."

"What about the Volturi leader? Did you tell her I was trying to protect her from him?"

"Yes." He confirmed. "I'm sorry Jake. You know my sister, she's stubborn as hell."

I sighed. Edward was right. If we ever got together, Leah would make my life a living hell. Across from the other side of the fire, Edward nodded and I knew he had just read my mind.

Before we could actually have some fun and start eating all the food that was being placed on the tables, my father announced that the Council wanted to explain a few details about the latest events. Only the people who knew the truth were present. Quil helped his grandfather to sit on the seat of honour, near the fire. Even though my father was the Chief, old Quil was still the most important elder of the tribal council.

Sam took his place besides Sue. Officially he wasn't a member of the tribal council, but he had practically the same rights since he had been the first to phase.

"A few days ago, some of us learned about the special condition of some of our boys...and girl." My father looked at Leah. "I said I'd answer all of the questions but it is better if we explain everything from the start."

My Aunt Connie wanted to speak but she decided to remain in silence. From all of the people who had learned the truth she was the most resistant to accept it.

"Our tribe possesses an ancient ability. We don't know how or when it began but we know that it exists for our protection. This is something that our legends always taught us but we ignored until it happened right in front of our eyes." Sue began. "Sam was the first."

"It was a shock at first but with old Quil's help and then Billy and Harry, I understood what I was and what I had to do." Sam explained. "We're protectors and we accept our mission for the sake of our tribe."

"If it's an ancient ability it means there were more?" Aunt Connie finally spoke.

"Yes." Old Quil answered. "Many years ago, my father was a wolf too. He protected our people along with Ephraim Black and Levi Uley."

"Our grandfather was a wolf and you never told me?" Aunt Connie faced my father.

"I didn't know. I only found out when Sam phased and old Quil came to me. He told me the legends were true."

"My son phased practically a year ago. Why didn't you tell me then?" She demanded.

"Connie, take it easy." Uncle Kevin whispered.

"I couldn't. The Council thought it was better to keep it a secret. We all decided that, especially after what happened to Harry."

"Harry?"

Seth and Leah exchanged a sad look and I fought the urge to go and comfort Leah.

"Harry died the day Leah and Seth phased. It was a shock to have both his children phasing." My father said. "I'm not saying it's their fault. Leah and Seth have done nothing wrong. We all know Harry had health problems. We couldn't risk something like that again. People don't deal well with the supernatural. What would you have done if Collin phased right in front of you?"

Aunt Connie didn't answer.

"I had the right to know, Billy. I'm his mother."

"And I'm his uncle, my son's the alpha and I guarantee you Collin's in good hands."

"You sent him to fight a group of evil...un-dead people...don't you dare telling me he's in good hands!"

"Brady told us they came from Italy and had powers." Hugh Fuller said. "How can we let our children risk their lives like this?"

"My children were risking their lives too." Sue pointed out. "Billy's son, old Quil's grandson, Sam...and many others. Brady wasn't alone."

"What if my son died?" Jodie Fryer asked. Jared gave her a hard look.

"You're overreacting mum." He said.

"They would never die." Edward Cullen stated firmly. It was only then that people noticed they were still there. "Your children were safe. My family has...certain abilities too and we would never let anything bad happen to them."

"But you're..." Aunt Connie was probably going to say 'the enemy' but she didn't.

"We're vampires. Your legends call us Cold Ones. And yes, we were enemies once but not anymore. We had a pact with Ephraim and ever since Bella joined our family we are friends with Jacob and his pack."

"Still...it was dangerous." Jodie insisted.

"I gave them an alpha command. If we were in any danger, they would run away. It's impossible to fight an alpha command. I assure you that they would've all survived." I explained. "But Jared and the others aren't little kids anymore. They are warriors and they were ready to die for the tribe's sake. It was their choice to fight."

I clearly messed up with my last words. Aunt Connie practically exploded on me and Jodie and other parents gave me a cold look.

"I'd like to hear you say that if it were your child!" Aunt Connie spat. "You just wait until you have your own children and then you can talk, you immature boy!"

I watched as Leah pretended to be occupied with her mobile phone. That was a sore theme for her since she couldn't have children. Besides by the looks of it, I'd never have a girlfriend much less a child of my own.

"Now that the Cullens are going to leave, our children will be able to stop phasing." My father announced. An expression of relief came across Jodie, Hugh and Aunt Connie's faces.

"So they'll stop turning into wolves as soon as the vampires leave?" Tiffany Call asked.

"It might take a while but we believe that in a few months some of them will stop phasing." Sue said. "It's just a matter of time."

"What about that...thing?" Claire's father was asking about the imprint. Quil was forced to tell them about that because it was hard to explain why he and Claire liked to spend so much time together. Ronald and Lynn didn't like it and were hoping the imprint bond would just fade away.

"I'm afraid we don't know." Old Quil said. "I never knew about such thing myself. I never knew a wolf could imprint until it happened to Sam."

Sam's eyes were on the sand the instant the imprint subject was mentioned but he managed a smile when Emily held his hand.

"The imprint bond may last forever or it may disappear when a wolf stops phasing. But we can't know that for sure." My father said.

"So, my baby girl will be tied to...a teenager forever?" Lynn seemed almost distraught and Quil looked at his imprint with sad eyes.

Kim and Jared also exchanged a look and Paul held Rachel closer. They had no idea what the future held for their relationships. Paul had asked my sister's hand in marriage a week ago. My father gave him his blessing and I didn't have the heart to destroy my sister's happiness. As for Kim and Jared they had a steady relationship too. But now no one knew if that bond would grant them a lasting happiness or if it would eventually disappear.

And if their future was a mystery with the imprint bond, mine was even worse. As alpha I was supposed to find my imprint so I could form a family and have children. The thing was, I didn't want that.

After a few minutes, people began to relax and we attacked the food and drinks. Everyone resumed their previous conversations. Alice was trying to convince my sister to use a white laced wedding gown designed by Rosalie a few years ago. It was going to be free of charge or so she said. Quil was playing with Claire supervised closely by the child's parents. Rosalie and Emmett were watching them too. Everyone knew Rosalie Hale had a weak spot for children since she could never be a mother either.

Esme was teaching Sue a new curry recipe and Carlisle was speaking to my father about something relating the pack and our ancient pact.

I noticed then that Edward was speaking to Leah but Embry was talking to me and I was unable to hear what they were talking about.

"So...University, huh?" He asked.

"Not likely." I replied. "I haven't told them my answer yet."

"I thought you'd want to go with Bella. I mean she's all excited that you're going."

"I'm not sure I can leave."

"Why not? Don't you want to leave the Reservation for a while?"

"I can't leave the pack without a leader."

"I could be the alpha." He joked. "Now that my mum knows I can spend more time patrolling. I would be an awesome leader."

"I'll think about it." I told him but I wasn't hearing anything he was saying. When Jared and others joined us, all I could think about was Edward and Leah's conversation that had already ended.

When Jared began to talk about the fight against the Volturi, I went to meet Edward.

"What was that all about?" I demanded.

"What are you talking about?"

"You were talking to Leah."

"I know. I think I can speak to whoever I want to."

"What did you tell her?"

"I was just trying to find out when she's leaving."

"And?"

"All I could read in her mind was 'soon'. She's worried about leaving Seth behind. She cares about that kid a lot."

Throughout the night I had been trying to come up with something to tell her. If I wanted to be with her, I'd have to step up and do what I should've done a long time ago. However I had never been good with words. The last time I had told a girl I loved her she ended up with my worst enemy.

"That won't happen this time. I already have what I wanted. Leah's all yours." Edward smiled. "Go get her."

I turned around and walked over to the fire. Leah was sitting down next to Sue.

"When you talk to her, do it privately, okay?" Edward added.

My heart was pounding when I reached the Clearwater women. But then Sam and Emily got up and asked everyone to be silent. Emily said something about true love, marriage and imprinting. She was smiling brightly and seemed like Sam was also happy.

"That said..." Emily resumed. "I just want to say that if it weren't for the imprint bond, I would not be as happy as I am now... All that I have I owe it to this magical bond and I know Sam and I will be happy forever because we're going to have a baby."

People clapped enthusiastically. Sue was particularly happy with the news but so was Kim, Rachel and all of the Cullen women. All but Leah who was nowhere to be found.

"Go after her." Edward whispered behind me. "And by the way, sometimes actions are better than words."

Following her scent I ran after Leah. How could I approach her after the bomb Emily had detonated?

_I love you. Do you want to be my girlfriend? _No. Too straightforward.

_Give me a chance to prove that I can make you happy. I will never leave you like Sam did. _No. I shouldn't mention Sam.

_Please don't leave. I care about you. I think I'm in love with you. _No. Not convincing enough.

I sucked at this. I should call Edward and make him tell me what she was thinking. I had no idea what to say to her.

"Leah! Wait!" It was now or never.

She didn't look back the first time so I called her again.

"What do you want, Black?" She asked. Her voice was shaky and any chances for a quiet talk flew away.

"I just want to talk."

"Good. Now talk." She spat, clearly ready to dismiss me as soon as our talk was over.

"Not here… Come with me." I didn't wait for her consent and I pulled her hand leading us to my empty house. I didn't want to tell her that I was in love with her in the middle of the forest. Surprisingly, she didn't resist but she tensed up considerably when we walked inside.

"Why are you acting like this?" I asked her.

"Like what?"

"You're acting weird since the day the Volturi left."

"No, I'm not." She denied. I was expecting that attitude.

"Edward told me." I finally confessed. My eyes went straight to the floor. I knew she'd be angry.

"What did he tell you?"

"That you're thinking about leaving."

She sighed, sounding relieved.

"So what?" She asked almost aggressively. I could see her defences up. "It's no one's business."

"Why are you leaving?" I inquired.

"Why does it matter?" She retorted.

Talking to Leah was becoming harder than I had anticipated and she seemed even more nervous than before.

"You don't need to leave Leah. The Volturi aren't coming back and the Cullens are leaving too. Everything will be back to normal pretty soon…you should stay here and…"

"Over my dead body, Jacob! I'm not going to stay here so you can go play 'happy families' with your un-dead girlfriend! You can pick Sam as the new alpha…I'm done with this…I'm done with the pack!" She exploded.

"Are you angry because Bella invited me to go with them?" It was a long shot but the way she was reacting to the possibility of my departure sounded a bit like jealousy.

"Don't flatter yourself, Black. Why would I be angry because of that?"

"I haven't told her my decision yet." I admitted. Leah was surprised.

"I don't care." She said. "It's your life, you can do whatever you want." She turned away to leave but I was faster and blocked the exit. It was too late to go back now.

"Why are you acting like this? Why is cruel Leah back?"

"It doesn't matter!" She raised her voice.

"Is it because of Emily? Because she's pregnant?"

I was scared of Leah's answer because if that was the case, it meant that she still had feelings for Sam and I couldn't stand the thought of that. Sam didn't deserve Leah, he broke her heart and left her. Because of him Leah had lost all hopes in love and that was why she was always running away from me.

"This was bound to happen one day…Just like the imprint bond…" I whispered. "They're married now."

"I can't stay here." She announced. I could feel she was trembling. Her defences were crumbling down and then she was crying.

"Can't you forget about Sam? He doesn't deserve you…"

She tried to hide her tears from me but failed.

"I've failed Jacob…" She said. "I'm a lousy daughter, an unwanted ex-girlfriend, an ungrateful sister, and a complete failure as a woman… You should've let that newborn kill me that day…"

I realised then how deeply she was hurting. She blamed herself for every bad thing that had happened to her and her family. I wouldn't let her fall, I wouldn't let her go down that road on her own so I did the only thing it came to my mind, I hugged her as tightly as I could.

I could tell she was surprised at first but she didn't push me away. When I felt her arms around me too I finally got the courage I needed and when she raised her head, I held her chin and I pressed my lips to hers.

I never thought in a million of years, a kiss could make me feel like that. My own knees were shaking and the sound of my heartbeat was all I could hear. I had only kissed one girl so far so I wasn't an expert but I could tell I was doing a good job when Leah gripped my shirt and allowed me to deepen the kiss.

I had imagined that moment for so long that it was hard to believe that it was actually happening right now. The kisses I had shared with Bella were faint compared to this one. Those weren't real kisses, just desperate actions of an immature teenager. But this was the real thing. This was meant to knock Leah off her feet and make her fall in love with me. This was meant to trump everything she had ever had with Sam. I just hoped it was enough for her to see that I was the one for her.

I only pulled away when my lungs ceased to receive oxygen. She was flushed and as breathless as I was. I wished I could read her mind in that moment. I wanted to know what she was thinking and what she was going to do.

Was she going to hit me? I admit that I was expecting at least one black eye after that.

Was she going to yell at me? I was expecting that too.

Or maybe she was going to leave? I wouldn't be too surprised if she did that.

However Leah did nothing. She just stood there, breathing heavily, her heart pounding and matching mine. When she tried to move, I acted on instinct. I held her waist and pulled her against the wall. For a brief moment I saw fear in her eyes but I ignored it and I kissed her again. She didn't put up a fight.

This time, I didn't mean to be careful or sweet. I wanted this kiss to be powerful and mind-blowing. Our bodies were pressed together and they were so hot I almost thought I was going to have a heart attack. As I deepened the kiss, Leah gave me access to her neck and from that moment on I knew I wouldn't be able to stop myself. I was going to make her mine. Tonight.

"_And by the way, sometimes actions are better than words."_

I remembered Edward's words and smiled to myself. For once he was right and the next morning I would have to meet the mind rapist and thank him for the advice.

I held Leah closer, the kisses we shared were urgent and intense and I grabbed her legs, lifting her from the floor, and led us into my bedroom, kicking the door shut. I had a small notion that we had knocked down a few objects in the living room but I didn't care. All I cared about was the girl in my arms.

My bed squeaked when we landed on it. Underneath her, I began to explore under her clothes and she did the same. I intertwined our fingers and kissed her deeply, making her moan a couple of times. I had never gone so far with a girl.

Reality crashed down on me when I noticed, minutes later that our clothes were all over the floor. And then I could no longer suppress my feelings. I was no longer able to control myself. She was all I could see, smell and feel. She was like a drug invading my bloodstream, a virus hacking into my system.

My brain was overloading. I was excited but also scared. Having Leah completely naked on top of me was a dream come true but I didn't know if we should go all the way. I had never done that. What if I wasn't good enough? What if it was like Quil and Embry told me? Too fast and too disappointing to make a good impression on the first time?

And what if she was just teasing me?

But she couldn't be, could she? I mean, the way she was kissing me was proof enough that she wanted this as much as I did, right?

Yet I was still the inexperienced one. Leah probably felt my hesitation and instead of urging me on, she kissed me fiercely and showed me what I was supposed to do. I didn't close my eyes when she made her body fall over mine and we became one. A rush of adrenaline hit me immediately but I managed not to move. Leah hadn't been with anyone after Sam and I was afraid to hurt her. In that moment she looked fragile enough to break and I wanted to feel her more even though not moving was a torture.

When we couldn't take it anymore Leah began to move. She didn't complain but I knew she was in pain. However I wasn't able to think about that for long. My mind was reacting to her every move and I almost forgot my own name.

No porn movie could have ever prepared me for that. I felt things I never imagined I could feel, and I realised then there was a difference between the things we watched on television and the real world. This was real, it wasn't a fabricated experience, a lust-driven fantasy we wanted to live. It wasn't meaningless sex.

For me it was much more than that. It was me trying to connect to the woman I loved. It was me trying to reach her very essence and show her she was important to me, she was my soul mate no matter what the legends said, she was the one I had chosen.

Leah was amazing in every sense of the word and I loved her for who she was, with all her flaws and qualities. She wasn't perfect, but I didn't want perfection anymore. When you have someone perfect in your life you tend to forget how easy it is to lose that person because everyone wants the same. Everyone wants what it's yours and I wasn't going to allow anyone to take what it was mine.

So I didn't want the perfect woman, I wanted Leah. I wanted the broken-hearted girl, with a dark sense of humour and the sarcastic remarks. I wanted the sweet girl, with a huge sense of duty, honour and love for her family and her people. I wanted all of her and I wanted her to want me too.

To show her how I felt I made sure my eyes never left hers only that moment was too short. Almost all the guys said that about their first time, I just didn't expect the end to come so shortly after we started. When I realised what was happening my body was already shaking and I was gone in a flash.

Leah didn't seem disappointed and thankfully we were no ordinary humans. Since we had a lot more stamina I also had a lot more to show her. Now that I knew what she liked, it was easy for me to take over and make her surrender to me. She never complained, not even when my bed gave in and we fell on the cold and hard floor of my bedroom.

We didn't stop. It seemed to me that only a few minutes had passed but in reality we were together for hours. Near the end, she said my name in a whisper and I never felt happier in my life. It was _my_ name she had whispered. It was _me_ she wanted. She was finally _mine_.

I raised myself up to my elbows and watched her in complete awe. My movements were slow, calculated, but steady. She had her eyes closed, her fingernails were breaking the skin on my back drawing blood, her hair was dump with sweat and her breathing was erratic.

When I stopped she finally opened her eyes. I could see desire and want but there was definitely something else. Was it love? Had she finally realised she was in love with me?

I slowly regained my pace and we lost each other, never breaking eye contact. I was supposed to tell her I loved her but in that moment my strength abandoned me and I fell on top of her. She was still shaking either I couldn't tell if it was from pleasure, cold or the sudden loss of contact between us.

Rolling to the side, I looked at her one last time and I smiled, feeling utterly content especially when all I could see was her face, all I could feel was her touch, and all I could smell was her scent on my skin. I wanted to scream and shout to the world that Leah was mine but my common sense told me to be quiet. For now.

I closed my eyes for a brief moment and when I opened them Leah was holding me close, her head on my chest and her arms around my waist. I pulled a thin sheet to cover us from the broken bed on our left side and then I allowed myself to rest.

Though many words were left unspoken I believed that everything was going to be fine. The next day I would kiss her good morning and tell her that I loved her, we would make love again, I was going to help her cooking breakfast and then we were going to live happily ever after.

**To be continued…**

* * *

Special thanks: teamtorettosupporter, Blackwater Crazziii, Cracker679, TheSkeptic88, Jeakat, Tara Maria, Queen Leti, Firefly-class, MelkiSihou, brankel1, Kwop, MoliWood, rocklesson86, crystal, Weave the Magic.

I'd also like to thank everyone who added this story to their favourite's list.

A/Note 3: First of all thank you all for your support. My readers are my mainly inspiration. Many of you have been asking about my next projects. I tell you, my friends, that nothing would please me more than to spend all the hours of the day writing this story and other projects of mine that were left on "stand-by mode". Since I finished my post-graduation I've been very busy at work and unfortunately I often find myself busy with other things when I'm not at work (family, friends, studies).

I try to work on my stories regularly but I make no promises about when I'll update. Sometimes writing a chapter is as easy as breathing, other times it's a complete nightmare. I wrote chapter 5 three times with different ideas, dialogues and characters each time until I was able to write something that I liked (in the end it took me one week). Chapters 6 and 7 were written in approximately 24 hours. Plus, to write down episodes from Jake's point of view that happened during Our Dawn 2, requires me to read several chapters prior to writing that episode to check mostly the small details. Therefore it's a long and tiring process.

About the sequel of Our Dawn 5 I'm not yet sure when I'll be able to start posting the chapters. So far I only wrote down on my notebook bits and pieces of what the story will focus on. I've decided to use Isaac and, later on, Sarah as the narrators, but there are still too many things to decide. I also want to update my stories in Portuguese and continue the translation of Waning Moon. I won't let anything unfinished, that much I promise, but it will take some time. Thank you so much. You're the best!


	9. Ep 9 - All went wrong

Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer not me.

Author/Note 1: This one-shot follows what happens to Jake between chapters 25 and 26. After Leah's departure from La Push, Jacob ends up accepting Bella's proposition and joins the Cullens in Dawson, Canada. Things aren't easy for him since he feels Leah left him because she never really loved him enough to care. In the meantime, Edward tries to tell him he's mistaken.

A/Note 2: I'm not a native English speaker so I'm sorry for my grammar and spelling. Thank you for reading.

**_Our Dawn Series Specials_**

_**Episode Nine - All Went Wrong**_

_**Jacob Black**_

The blue sky was covered with small white clouds. The cold wind was blowing right in my face, making me almost cry. In Dawson it didn't rain as frequently as in La Push but the temperatures were a lot colder. Not that it mattered to me. The temperature was the least of my worries right now. Ever since I had turned into a giant wolf, cold had ceased to be a problem.

I was lying down on a meadow behind my new home, waiting for something even though I didn't know exactly what it was. Nearly two months ago I had my life figured out. I thought I'd be able to have my happy ending. I deserved it after all I'd been through. But I was clearly mistaken.

_What did I do wrong?_ This was the question that plagued me. The mind rapist told me it was all my fault. Apparently I hadn't done the right thing. In the end it all came down to the moment when Leah and I had slept together. Edward said I should've told her I loved her that night. I did try. Words just didn't come out. I was too scared of opening my mouth and ruin the moment so I just thought that it would be better to say it the next morning and I fell asleep.

_"Amateur...You'll learn in time that you never fall asleep after sex. I told you women are complicated, didn't you listen to me?"_ Edward had told me.

So I was a rooky in those waters, sue me. Leah had been my first, and my last. And by the looks of it, I would never have more opportunities to stay awake after sex because Leah had bailed out on me.

She was gone. Leah didn't even say goodbye to her family and only contacted them later. Sue and Seth knew she was alright but no one knew where she was or what had happened that made her flee as if the Apocalypse was coming. No one but me and the mind reader of course. It had remained a secret between us.

After two weeks of searching her all over three states, I had realised she didn't want me to find her and I joined the Cullens in Dawson. If she didn't care about me, why should I care about her, right? A few days later my thoughts were no longer linked to my pack which was okay by me since I didn't need more people in my head watching the details of what we had done that night. It was bad enough to have Edward reading my thoughts almost every day.

Carlisle said that since I had told Sam to step up as the leader in La Push while I was gone, I had separated myself from the pack. But since I was the true alpha and Ephraim's rightful heir, I did not cease to be a leader either. I didn't care about it though. I had a hole the size of a freaking football field on my heart and couldn't care less about the pack, Sam or Ephraim Black. I was content enough to know that now Sam was the only one who had access to my thoughts which meant I would only have to make sure I'd phase when he was not in wolf form.

However Carlisle was right. After a week living with the vampires, Seth arrived and I realised we were still linked which meant I was still an alpha wolf. I was no longer the alpha in La Push but I still had a pack of my own. A pack of two. Seth was a bit annoying with his happy-go-lucky attitude but he proved to be loyal only to me. That probably meant he was my beta by default but again, I couldn't care less. I didn't care if there were two different packs, I didn't care about anything.

I had a rough time when Bella took Edward back and accepted to be his wife. The feeling of being rejected cut deeper than any knife and hurt more than a spear in my heart. Back then I had to leave La Push to recover some of my sanity and it took me a long time to accept that I was going to lose her for a vampire.

Now things were even worse. First I felt fear, then anger and now there was just this immense feeling of numbness. Bella's rejection was nothing compared to this. I never thought it could hurt so much. But now things would never be the same again.

Seth ended up staying with us even though Bella was forced to go to Forks to speak to Sue and had to promise that Seth was going to attend the local High school and would be very well taken care of.

It didn't make much difference to me. The fact that Seth was there wasn't troublesome because he didn't phase regularly. He had other things to do and we didn't need to patrol anymore. Sometimes I had to phase to get away from Blondie or her idiot husband, or even Edward but I was trying to phase less these days.

The last time I had an argument with Rosalie, things didn't turn out that well. We fought in the kitchen of the Cullen's mansion and Jasper and Carlisle had to drag me to the back yard so I wouldn't destroy the whole house. That was one hour ago, more or less.

"Jake, you're bleeding." Bella's voice reached me. I pressed my left hand to my eyebrow and felt the warm liquid. I wasn't worried but like the old days, Bella still didn't like to see human blood.

"It will heal in a few minutes." I told her. I didn't want to talk to any of them right now so I was hoping she'd go away.

"Come inside. Rose and Emmett went shopping and Esme cooked you a chocolate cake."

"I'm not hungry."

Bella looked at me surprised. It was not in my nature to decline food.

"That's a new one." She said. "Why are you so angry? You know Rose enjoys teasing you and she said sorry."

"She always does but she never means it." I stated stubbornly. Rosalie and I used to argue about everything. The smallest things made us explode on one another.

"I think you should attend High school with Seth, me and the others. It would be good for you to leave the house and focus on something else."

The others she was referring to were Edward, Jasper and Alice.

"No thank you." I sat down. "I've finished High school already."

"So did we. Except for Seth."

"Well...you're vampires, you'll be young forever and you have nothing to do here."

"Oh...and you have?" I could note the sarcasm in her voice.

"I have things to fix."

"You bought an old motorcycle that can't be fixed."

A couple of weeks ago I had visited the antiques market in Dawson and found an old motorcycle for sale. The owner made me a discount and I turned that motorcycle into my new project. At least for now.

"I'll fix it."

"Jake...please..."

"Look, you asked me to come, remember?"

"Because I thought it would be fun. I thought you'd enjoy being here with us."

I knew she wanted me to create some brotherhood bond with her family. Bella was still too attached to her human past and wanted to hang on to it as long as she could, especially now that they had been recruited to go to Volterra in a century. She wanted to create memories while she still could.

"I'm fine Bella. Really."

"No, you're not. You're always angry and you don't even talk to me."

"There's nothing to talk about."

Bella put on a sad look and turned around.

"Well, you know where to find me if you change your mind."

I wanted to tell her that this had nothing to do with me changing my mind. I didn't enjoy feeling so angry all the time either. But being left by the girl I was in love with on the infamous morning after was something that could take quite a toll on you.

When I woke up that morning I felt like the happiest person alive. It was like nothing could ruin my happiness. I could still feel Leah's scent all over my skin and my bedroom, I could remember everything about her body and her warmth, and I could still taste her on my lips. But everything went out of the window when I realised she wasn't there with me, like she was supposed to be.

My happiness was short lived. My bedroom was a mess, my bed was broken, the window was open and minutes later my dad was knocking on my door. I didn't know what to think.

Was it a dream? It couldn't have been a dream because I was naked and I could remember everything Leah and I had done. I had a fertile imagination but I hadn't imagined Leah underneath me panting and moaning my name. Besides her scent was all over my bedroom, especially on the sheets and my own skin, I even doubted that a shower could wash out her scent off of me.

I got up when my dad yelled from the kitchen that we were going to have visitors. I was supposed to tell them my decision about going to Canada with the Cullens. I had meant to stay in La Push and work things out with Leah but in that moment I didn't even know where she was and what she was thinking about our night together.

Fear made my body shake violently. I put on my shorts and tried to fix the bed the best way I could. I ended up using my school books to steady it and then there was a knock on the front door. I could tell it was Sam. I remember he said my father that old Quil wasn't coming, and dad let him in.

I wondered if I should shower to erase all traces of Leah or let Sam know that we had slept together and she was finally mine.

The problem was I didn't know for sure if she was really mine. We had slept together, that was a fact, but did that make her mine? And why wasn't she there with me?

My heart sank when I realised she could be having regrets about last night. If that was the case it meant this had all been a mistake and she didn't have feelings for me. Or maybe she thought I had taken advantage of her. I felt my head was about to explode and then I heard her voice right outside my bedroom. At least I knew where she was. But why was she there with Sue when she was supposed to be in my bedroom?

I tried to fix my room before Sam came in but there was too much of a mess. He closed the door behind him, looked around, sniffed the air and glared at me. For a second there I thought he was going to attack me. He asked me what had happened to the bedroom and I told him Leah and I had an argument last night because of Emily's pregnancy announcement.

It was a lie but Sam believed it, besides it would explain not only the state of my bedroom but also her scent that still lingered in the air. However Sam did seem suspicious when I told him that there was nothing going on between Leah and me. He even had the nerve to tell me to get away from her otherwise we would end up hurting each other.

If Leah wasn't right outside my bedroom I would've told Sam it was too late for that. I would've told him I had spent the night making Leah scream my name.

The worst part of that morning was still yet to come. When I finally gathered the courage to leave my bedroom, I found Leah in the living room. I could feel she was anxious and uncomfortable. Actually it looked like she was ready to phase any minute.

When she told me to go to Canada with Bella, I knew she had heard Sam's words about my hypothetic departure and I had the urge to kill that bastard. I had never said I'd go with the Cullens, he had just assumed it. I tried to talk to her but Leah didn't listen and left.

I never saw her again after that.

So when did all go wrong between us? I couldn't tell.

"You never told her you were in love with her." Edward said. He sat down on the grass a few feet away from me. "You should let Carlisle have a look on your injuries."

"They'll heal."

Physical pain felt better than the emotional one I had been feeling for the last couple of months.

"Bella told me what happened. Rose is sorry, she bought you something."

"She can shove it up her ass."

"You act like kids. Both of you."

"It's her fault."

"It's yours as well."

"She returned the parts I bought to fix my motorcycle! It was expensive and now I don't have the money to buy more!"

"She was able to find some parts on the market today. You should accept her gift."

I rolled my eyes. I hated how Rosalie could be such a bitch and the next moment turn into an innocent angel.

"She's a lot like someone you love, isn't she?"

"I don't want to talk about her."

"Yet you spend all day thinking about her and you dream of her every night."

"I wish I could stop…but I can't."

"I know."

"Then what are you doing here Edward? Did you come to rub salt on my wounds?"

"I'm trying to help you."

"Can you bring her back? Can you find her?"

"No. I've tried but she left no tracks after Seattle."

"Can you explain why she left me after… after spending the night with me?"

"I can give you a theory."

I rolled my eyes again. Fuck theories, I wanted the truth.

"Without those three little words it was only sex… If you had told her you're in love with her, she would still be with you."

"Or she never gave a rat's ass about me. Maybe she took pity on me for being a virgin and decided to let me get laid just once. Maybe she just wanted to have sex with someone and took the chance. Maybe she…"

"You're angry at her." He cut me off. "I understand but I've seen Leah's thoughts before you slept together and she had feelings for you. I'm sure of it."

"When you have feelings for someone you don't run away after you sleep with that person!" I almost yelled.

Edward was right, I was angry at Leah. And I was angry at myself too. And nothing seemed to be able to take that anger away.

"She was probably scared."

"Scared of what?"

"Falling for you?" He tried. "You haven't imprinted yet. When Sam imprinted on Emily she took it pretty bad. If the legends are true, you will find your soul mate eventually so your genes can be passed on to the next generation. After all you are La Push's rightful alpha."

"Maybe the rules of imprinting don't apply to me."

"It's a possibility… But I guess Leah doesn't want to risk it." He said. "It doesn't mean she doesn't love you though…It means she's just too scared of losing you."

I sighed.

"And why couldn't she just tell me that herself?"

"Maybe she felt she was doing you a favour."

"A favour?"

He shrugged.

"She probably thought you had her for a one-night stand and left to spare you the explanations of your actions. Maybe she thought you'd brag about sleeping with her and decided to leave before she could become the pack's joke once again. Maybe she was scared of ruining your friendship." Those were all valid theories and none pleased me. "Look, I can only guess."

"Well for me it means she doesn't love me at all. It was all my imagination. I guess she was vulnerable that night and I didn't stop when I should have..."

"You can still fix this."

"Oh really? How? She disconnected her cell phone. She blocked me on facebook and she doesn't answer my e-mails."

"Next time you see her make sure you talk to her. Properly."

"Next time I see her she's probably married to some lawyer."

"I doubt that. Leah doesn't like commitment."

I closed my eyes for a few seconds. Edward and I had had this conversation many times in the past two months and it always ended in silence. A very uncomfortable silence.

"Why does it hurt so much?" I whispered.

"Because you love her." He said sincerely.

I nodded. He was right this time. I hated Leah for leaving, but I still loved her.

"Did you hurt like this when you thought Bella was dead?"

"Yes." He confessed. "But Leah isn't dead. She's just... away. For now. You will see each other again because you have something she cares about."

I looked at him surprised.

"You have Seth..." Edward explained. "He's your best chance to see her again, and when you do, make sure you put things right because if you quit now, you'll never know what you could've had together."

"I appreciate your optimistic view of my problems, but I'm sick of being rejected. I'm done." I had the intention of forgetting everything that happened between me and Leah but soon I realised it wouldn't be that simple.

xxxxxxxxxx

Day after day my life became a boring succession of hours, minutes and seconds. Bella was worried about me. She asked me frequently if I was homesick but she always got the same answer: _"I'm fine." _I always told her.

And I was. The hurt of being rejected for the second time in my life was still there and it was stronger every time I thought of Leah, but I was learning how to live with that void. Rosalie had managed to reorder the parts for my motorcycle project and I was able to resume it. I used to spend about ten to twelve hours of the day working on it.

When I was working in the garage no one came to bother me, except for Emmett but that was just once in a while. The rest of the hours of the day I would spend it watching television or playing videogames with Seth, when he wasn't at school. I had even watched Jasper's entire collection of horror movies.

Tonight we were watching Aliens. My favourite part of the movie was when the little aliens came out of people's chests. It was blood all around.

"This is horrible." Bella said.

"It must be a guy thing." Said Rosalie leaving the room. "I'll be upstairs watching something that doesn't include people dying." She told her husband.

"Finally we found something to get rid of that bitch." I muttered. Seth laughed. Emmett didn't find it amusing since it was his wife I was talking about but he didn't follow her either. He liked Aliens better than what she used to watch on TV such as Desperate Housewives and other annoying things.

"How many times have you seen this crap?" Bella asked to no one in particular.

She wanted to see some shitty movie called The Last Samurai because she liked Tom Cruise but we had opposed. It was Friday and Friday was horror-nights for us.

"Twenty-three times for me." Jasper said. He even knew all the lines of all of the characters. "And it's not a crap, Bella. It's a masterpiece." He added.

"No, it's a major crap." Bella insisted. "It's all death and blood and…What is that?"

"That's the Queen." Edward explained. "She's awesome."

"The Last Samurai is a great movie, I don't know why you still prefer this." She complained.

"Sorry Bella but I have to agree with Jasper. Sigourney Weaver is a better actress than Tom Cruise will ever be." Alice confessed. "Though Tom Cruise is more handsome."

"Exactly." Bella agreed.

"What's up with women and Tom Cruise?" Seth inquired, his mouth full of popcorns. "Leah loved Tom Cruise too, she even had a poster of him in her bedroom…"

I felt a little jealous. I mean Tom Cruise wasn't that handsome, right?

"Your sister has good taste in men." Bella smiled and I chocked on my Pepsi. Of course she had good taste in men. She had slept with me after all.

_It wasn't Tom Cruise who made her scream that night._ I wanted to say.

"What?" Bella asked turning to face me. "What's wrong about Leah liking Tom Cruise?"

"Uh...nothing." I grinned. By experience I knew I was better than the _amazing_ Tom. I smiled recalling only a few details of that night with Leah.

"Get a grip Jacob." Edward asked me. "We're watching a horror movie not a porn one."

"God…I almost wish we were watching porn." Bella closed her eyes when the alien Queen ripped Bishop apart. "Disgusting." She complained.

"He's not even human, Bella." I said.

"Is there anyone in this freaking movie that survives that thing?" She asked.

"Yes." Jasper answered. "Otherwise there wouldn't be a third and fourth movie."

"Oh my God! There are more?" She asked horrified.

Edward, Emmett, Jasper, Seth and I nodded happily.

"God have mercy on me."

"At least Duane is still alive. They can get together." Alice said. "They make a good couple."

"He dies on the third movie, honey." Jasper announced.

"Of course he would die...Poor guy." Bella sighed.

"Talking about cute couples… You have a date with Audra tomorrow." Alice's eyes glimpsed and she smiled sweetly. "Don't forget about it."

"I'm not going on a date with anyone." I stated firmly. Alice had arranged me a date out of the blue because she wanted me to take someone to Rachel and Paul's wedding.

"You have to take a date to your sister's wedding and Audra is a nice girl. She's in our class, she's classy, beautiful and she's athletic. You have a few things in common…"

"I don't need a date to my sister's wedding, plus the wedding is going to be only next year and I don't know Audra."

"Yes, well...details." Alice looked at me. "But you do need a date."

"Seth doesn't have a date." I pointed out.

"Seth's not one of the best men. You are, and you need a date. Period." Alice insisted.

"Hey, you can go with the shewolf." Emmett suddenly said. This time I almost threw up my dinner which would be a shame because Esme had cooked an awesome lasagna.

"My sister?" Seth asked confused. "Why would he go with Leah?"

"Because she probably doesn't have a date either." Bella highlighted.

"We don't even know where she is or if she's going." I recalled them.

"Of course she's going." Alice said. "I've designed the perfect dress for her to wear. Leah is going to that wedding even if I have to drag her myself."

"I can't go…with… Look I don't need a date."

"Come on alpha boy. She's not that bad. I've seen the way you looked at her the day Bella and Edward got married."

He had to be kidding me. Leah and I didn't even like each other then. Though she was beautiful that day. That crimson dress looked great on her copper skin but it looked way better on First Beach's sand. I was not the only guy in the pack that thought that Leah was better off naked rather than dressed though I was the only one who had actually enjoyed the pros of it. Sam didn't count because he had been her boyfriend prior to Leah phasing.

"Jake?" Seth's eyes were practically getting out of his sockets. "Do you think of Leah _that_ way?"

"He's joking Seth…"

"No, I'm not." Emmett declared. "What about that day when she had that date with that human guy…Kaylan? I could tell you wanted to murder the guy and you were definitely checking her out in that tinny dress she was wearing."

"Kaynan? What happened with Kaynan?" Seth was now suspicious.

"Nothing serious. Leah just… lost her temper and hit him." I answered.

"She what? And you knew?"

"I helped her… She thought she had killed him. He didn't remember anything when he woke up." I didn't want to elaborate more. Especially because if I did, I would have to tell him the part when Kaynan thought Leah and I were a couple.

"You wished she had killed him, didn't you?" Emmett joked and I glared. "So you could have her all to yourself. And you danced with her on Sam's wedding."

"Shut up Emmett!" I hissed.

"I'm just kidding alpha boy." He laughed.

"I thought she had a good time with Kaynan." Seth muttered. "She was supposed to have some fun with him."

_I'm glad she didn't._ I thought to myself. Jealousy was speaking louder again.

"If you go with Leah you can cancel your date with Audra tomorrow." Alice said.

"Though I would go meet this girl if I were you." Emmett advised. "I mean… You can have some fun with Audra. No strings attached… It's a good chance to get laid. You need some action. You could try to jump the shewolf too but you'd probably end up in the hospital."

"Please…" Seth complained. "Can we stop talking about Jake getting laid? And please don't mention my sister."

If only they knew I had slept with Leah already and I didn't end up in the hospital. I was pretty sure that counted for getting laid after all we had done it more than once that night. Actually I was one hundred percent sure I knew more about Leah's body now than any other person in the world. Sometimes when I was alone in my bedroom I'd swear I could still feel her scent on me.

"Jacob." Edward warned me.

"I'm going to my bedroom." I announced.

"Aren't you going to see the end of the movie?" Bella asked.

"I know what happens. Ripley saves the little girl and the alien Queen is launched off into space."

"Great now you spoiled it for me." Bella pretended to be upset and I laughed a little.

Since the last incident with Rosalie, Seth and I were accommodated in a small compound in the Cullen's property that used to be the storage for the gardening tools. It was comfortable enough for the both of us and we didn't have to breathe their obnoxious scent for so long. We had a small living room, an even smaller kitchen, two bathrooms and three bedrooms. So it wasn't _that_ small, but it was definitely smaller than their mansion.

I hopped into bed and closed my eyes. I pictured all of the opportunities I had in the past to tell Leah about my feelings, each and all of them wasted. I needed to seal the deal. I mean I had sealed the deal with her but I needed to know why she'd left. I just had to know. I couldn't date anyone or even think about other girls until I got my answers but for that I needed to find her. A couple of hours later Seth returned and he stopped by my door.

"Jake? Are you awake?"

"Yes, Seth…I'm awake."

"She said maybe."

I lifted my head immediately.

"What are you talking about?" I pretended not to know. Seth hadn't told anyone he could still talk to his sister through e-mail. He was one of the few people who Leah hadn't completely blocked out of her contact list. Seth never told me probably because he was following Leah's instructions, until tonight.

"Leah said she might come to the Cullen's Thanksgiving's dinner."

Well that was great the only problem was that I was supposed to go see my family that day.

"I need to ask you something." Seth said.

"What?"

"Did my sister leave because of you?"

I swear my heart did a backflip.

"What do you mean?"

"You spoke to her that night, didn't you?"

"Yes."

I did a lot more than talk to her but I guess Seth wouldn't like to know that.

"Sam said you had an argument. Why did you argue with my sister the night she learned about Emily's pregnancy?"

_Sam and his stupid mouth._

"I tried to tell her that… Sam's not the right guy for her. I tried to make her see she could still have a happy ending. And she…" I hesitated. "I guess I didn't try enough because she left."

Thinking about it still made me feel angry and sad at the same time.

"I'm sorry I had to ask… it's just that I was afraid that you had told her something…something stupid…"

"Like what?"

"I don't know." He admitted. "Leah's been through a lot and no one seemed to care. When dad died, she blamed herself for his heart attack even though I phased too. She wanted to take the blame for what happened. To spare me of the guilt."

"You and Leah had nothing to do with your dad's death."

"I know but we'll never stop blaming ourselves."

I felt bad for Seth and I felt even worse when I recalled that when Harry died I was so wrapped up in Bella and her life that I never paid much attention to his or Leah's feelings.

"And then she still had to live inside Sam's mind... all of his conflicting thoughts about her and Emily that she was forced to see. She couldn't stand knowing she had been betrayed by them. She had loved both so much. Emily was her best friend and Sam was everything to her. She wanted to leave La Push with him one day, have a good job and then get married and have children. She lost everything that day Jake... and I could only watch from afar. I never helped her enough, I never protected her enough... You were the one who saved Leah from that newborn. It was supposed to be me but I wasn't there..."

"Don't blame yourself like that. You did what you could for her." I told him. "And I'm sure she's thankful."

"You always seemed to understand Leah better than anyone else in the pack. Even though you didn't see eye to eye, you always treated her better than the others. But when I realised you were the last person to see her before she left, I kind of blamed you..."

"It's okay. You don't need to apologise."

_Because it was my fault. I made her leave. I had the chance to put things right and somehow everything went wrong. _I wanted to tell him that but I didn't.

"Yes, I do. I thought things..." He hesitated. "I thought bad things about you when I learned you had an argument."

"Bad things?" I questioned.

"I'm not blind Jake. I've seen the way you treated my sister... It was as if she was a second Bella in your life. You wanted to help her move on, free her from Sam, because you didn't want to fail again. I knew you were using her but you were her only friend at the time."

"I wasn't using her." I denied.

"I know you never meant to."

"No...I wasn't using her." I insisted.

_I fell in love with her and I want her back as much as you do. Maybe more than you. _I didn't tell him my thoughts because I feared his reaction. To admit that I was in love with Leah and had slept with her would probably ruin our friendship and right now Seth was my closest friend.

"Anyway... I just want you to know that I trust you and when I see Leah again, I'll tell her that it's safe to trust you and maybe she'll return your calls. I'll tell her you won't betray her and then maybe she'll let us visit her one day."

"Do you know where she is?" I had to ask that.

"No. She didn't tell me. But I'll ask. It's a shame you won't be here on Thanksgiving. I'll tell Leah 'hi' for you."

When Seth went to bed I tossed and turned and my eyes never closed. I couldn't sleep. One way or another, Leah did leave because of me, she had abandoned her brother and mother because I was an idiot. But now I had a chance to make her stay. I just had to talk to the right person.

xxxxxxxxxx

The sun was about to rise when I heard movement outside. Carlisle, Esme and Edward were going to hunt early this morning but first I wanted to have a word with the mind rapist. He was my last hope.

"Jacob wants to have a word with me. I'll catch you in a minute." Edward told his adoptive parents who disappeared in the woods quickly.

"Don't get used hearing this but... I need your help." I told him and he grinned.

"Really? And what can I do for you?"

"I need a favour."

"A favour? I'm listening."

"You can read my mind."

"I can, but it's so much better to hear it from you." He grinned again.

"Fine. Your family will have a Thanksgiving dinner in a few weeks."

"Restricted to family…yes." He confirmed.

"Seth contacted Leah and she said she's coming."

"No. She said 'maybe'. I read it on Seth's mind last night."

"'Maybe' is Leah's language for 'count me in'."

"I see…and your request is?"

"I want you to invite me, my dad, Rachel…and Paul." I didn't want to see Paul that much but he would follow Rachel anyways. "It will have to be a last minute invitation. Something that you'll decide on the moment because if Leah suspects I'll be here she won't come."

"Okay. I'll do it."

"Seriously? Just like that?"

"Sure."

"And you don't want anything in return?"

"Well I think that if I had my happy ending and married the woman I love, you should have the same. I'm not that cruel." He stated. "Well that and…I'm sick of your thoughts about her, about that night and about what you did together in your bedroom. It's as bad as a porn movie." He complained and I laughed.

"You can go join Carlisle and Esme."

"Not before you say the word."

"Thanks." I rolled my eyes. "Don't get used to it either."

"Oh, I will…You know why? Because once you meet again, you'll finally be happy together and I will be the one to take all of the credits."

"Sure, sure…" I turned around to go back to my bedroom and finally have some sleep.

"Jacob?" Edward called me before entering then woods.

"What leech?"

"Start practicing your lines… Because Leah Clearwater won't let you win her heart without a fight."

A small smile came to my lips and I turned to the horizon to watch the sun rising. Today the sky was brighter and the sun shone higher for me because in a few weeks I would see her again. In a few weeks, Leah would be mine for good.

**To be continued...**

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A/Note: _The Last Samurai_ and _Aliens_ are great films. Sigourney Weaver is a great actress and Tom Cruise is also a good actor. Desperate Housewives is okay... The characters' opinions do not reflect my own. :)

I was supposed to have a week off at work but I had to cancel my holidays in the last minute so the next chapter will take a while to be ready.

Thank you so much for your reviews. Karisan


	10. Ep 10 - Not enough

Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer not me.

Author/Note 1: This one-shot follows what happens between Jake and Leah during chapters 27 and 28 of _Our Dawn 2_. Before Thanksgiving, they spend the night together and Leah decides she has to leave Jacob again because she doesn't want to give him hopes of a relationship that she knows it will fail. They both admit they're in love but in the end that's not enough for Leah.

A/Note 2: I'm not a native English speaker so I'm sorry for my grammar and spelling. Thank you for reading.

**_Our Dawn Series Specials_**

_**Episode 10 – Not Enough**_

_**Jacob Black**_

I knew I had messed up again when I heard her steps outside. I wondered if my life would be like this forever: a never-ending succession of bad decisions and disappointments. I had waited four months to see Leah again. _Four_ entire months that felt like four damn years. Day after day, I waited, bottling up my anxiety and impulsive nature. Everyone knew I had never been a patient guy but I realised soon enough that for Leah I'd do anything and so I waited in Dawson for her to come and, finally, she did.

Our meeting wasn't the emotional rendezvous I would like it to be but at least she didn't flee when she saw me coming inside the kitchen with Edward, Jasper and Emmett. I'm pretty sure she thought about it because for half a second I saw her eyes looking for an escape route, but since that would raise suspicions she probably decided against it.

I would like to see her smiling, happy to see me after so long, instead there was a mixture of fear and anger on her brown eyes. For a couple of minutes it seemed that there were only us inside that kitchen. Seth, Leah and I had an awkward dinner with the Cullens. Except for Edward no one else knew what had happened between me and my beta and no one sense the anxiety in the room, but I could tell she was as nervous as me.

I had my speech all figured out. I just had to make sure we'd have some privacy to talk. I knew what I had to tell her and I was going to make sure she'd listen to me this time. When Bella took her to her bedroom, I excused myself from the Cullen's living room and followed them. I waited a while beore making my move but Leah had locked herself. I should've known that with Leah it was impossible to follow a plan.

Sinece she didn't accept to talk to me, I decided to trap her. And then, when we were finally face to face, every damn word I had spent hours practicing evaporated from my brain. She was wearing a white nightgown above her knee; her loose hair was longer than before and fell about her shoulders. Her natural beauty made my heart beat faster but hers was beating as faster as mine. She tried to maintain a certain distance from me but I wasn't going to let her escape this time.

She hardly looked into my eyes when I asked her why she had left me. I assumed she had regrets because she told me that we should forget about it and move on. She even assured me we could still be friends once we put that night behind our back. The thing was I didn't want to forget, I wanted to remember every single detail of that night and I wanted to do it again, and again, and again.

I could tell she was shocked when I told her it hadn't been a mistake for me. I could tell she was scared to give in to me again as I kissed her and pushed her over to the bed, but she finally gave in when I assured her that I had no regrets about us.

How could I? That was most likely the best night of my life. I had wanted her for so long and it had hurt me deeply to wake up the next morning and find her gone.

Now I had chance to make things right with her. It started with a deep and long kiss and from that moment on I let my instincts take over and I felt her doing the same. It was amazing. People say their first time is hardly trumped but in my case, our second time was ten thousand times better.

I took my time with her, making sure she could feel every touch, every kiss, every inch of me. I wanted to show her that she was not only good enough but also the only one for me. My beta, my partner, my mate, my _everything_.

I knew we shouldn't be so loud, after all there were eight vampires and a wolf nearby but as soon as the foreplay was over and our clothes were discarded on the floor, I didn't care. I took from her everything I could and I gave Leah everything she asked of me.

By then I guess we were very much aware of what this night meant. There were feelings between us, she couldn't deny it now. She was probably still scared because her heart had been damaged before, but I would do anything to prove her I was not Sam Uley. I'd fight for her, something that Sam had never done. I'd fight with all I had. I didn't need an imprint to love a woman. I didn't want an imprint to turn me into a love-zombie like the others and I couldn't care less about my genes.

I'd find a way to have a family with Leah. If she remained barren, we would adopt a child and I would pass on my rights as alpha of La Push on to my nephews, even if they were Paul's children. Maybe Becca's children would also have the gene, if she ever got kids. One of them could be alpha for all I cared.

But there was a small chance that a miracle could happen. Maybe, if she stopped phasing, she'd be able to have my baby. And then we'd be bonded together forever for that child would belong to both of us. That baby would be half mine, half hers. He would have my eyes, my hair and my smile, but her nose and her temper. And we would be happy.

I kissed her again, from her neck down to her belly and I intertwined our hands as I adjusted myself on top of her, changing our positions and making sure she wouldn't be too sore afterwards. It was actually amazing the way our bodies fit together. She had locked her long legs around my waist, which didn't allow me to build up speed but I wanted to go slow and make the moment last as much as we could both take it.

My head was starting to go blank, my muscles were starting to stiff and my body was suddenly assaulted by a rush of adrenaline. Underneath me, Leah was crying and my heart stopped in fear. I had to gather all of my courage to ask if I was hurting her. She nodded negatively and urged me to keep going. I couldn't have stopped even if I wanted to. All sense of logic had already abandoned me, I was trying to hold on as much as I could because I wanted to feel that last moment with her. I wanted her to feel this was special and I wanted to be the only man making her feel that way.

I could tell she was close too. Her fingernails were buried in my biceps and her body was arching into mine, meeting my every move. I called out her name and then I was gone. I hadn't planned to finish like that but the way she was moaning my name in short quick breaths, was my undoing. She found her own release practically at the same time and didn't allow me to move until her body stopped shaking and we regained our breath.

I felt almost cold and hollow when I rolled off of her so I immediately pulled her into my arms. Despite being only the second time we had intimate contact like that it felt so right that I wished we could just spend the rest of our lives together. Maybe we should just stay in that room and never get out again.

Remembering Edward's advice, I remained wide awake, deciding what words to say. There were so many things I wanted to say and ask Leah.

I wanted to know all about those new friends she had in the place she was living now. I wanted to know what kind of relationship she had with that dick face named Jace she had mentioned over dinner. I wanted to know about her job and if she wanted to go back to Gold Beach.

Now that we were together, I would rather go back to La Push. That was our home. She could go live with me and dad after Rachel's wedding. Or maybe I could move in to her place, if she allowed me to. Whatever she decided I'd go along because the only thing that mattered was us being together.

Our relationship wouldn't be well accepted by a few members of our pack, but we didn't owe explanations to any of them. I was sure that after a man to man talk with Seth he would realise that I could make his sister happy and would accept us as a couple. As for Sam, well he'd have to suck it up. Leah didn't belong to him anymore. She was _mine_ and I would rub that in his face if I had to.

If the Cullens remained in Dawson, we could also stop phasing. We could do whatever we wanted to. I would like to open my auto repair shop and Leah could take community college classes. I could already see us, living together, having heated arguments and a lot of make-up sex and then taking care of a couple of kids.

My dad would be ecstatic to have grandchildren. Our firstborn would be a boy. We could name him Jacob, after me or maybe Ephraim, like my great grandfather. Harry was also a good choice because it would honour Leah's father. A few years later our second child would be born. A cute little girl. She'd be beautiful like Leah but cheerful like me. I'd like to name her Sarah, after my mother. If Leah wanted, we could have more. We could have a football team if that made her happy. And if she didn't want to stay in La Push, we'd live someplace else. It wouldn't really matter.

I was about to ask her about the last four months we had spent apart when I noticed she was sleeping. With her hand flat above my heart and her head on my chest, Leah looked like an angel in my arms. I placed my right arm around her waist and kissed her hair. She stirred a bit but didn't wake up so the questions would have to come later.

When I woke up, she was gone. Waking up a second time alone was not good for my self-esteem so I picked up my shorts and went after her. She was not leaving me again.

It was snowing. The floor was covered by an immense white carpet. Leah was about to get inside her car when I reached her. I hugged her and she trembled. I knew it was not from the cold but from my touch.

"Where are you going?" I asked softly.

"I'm sorry but I can't stay."

"I let you leave once, I'm not making the same mistake."

"Please Jacob. Things between us would never work out."

"Since when did you become a fortune teller?"

How could she claim that after tonight? I spun her around so we could be face to face. I wanted her to look into my eyes and see I was serious about us. She became more anxious now that she was trapped between my body and her car.

"Jacob…I don't deserve you. You need someone who can…"

"I won't imprint!" I stated firmly. She was having cold feet because of the imprinting business. I would have to find a way to make her trust me and trust my feelings for her. Just like her I didn't like the concept of having a bond with someone I didn't even know.

"Yes, you will!" She practically yelled. "You're the alpha! You'll imprint just like the others!"

"I don't need magic to be with the right person. I need someone real, I need you Leah."

"I'm not right for you. You know that."

"Why not?"

"You know why…" She lowered her eyes. She was probably talking about her condition. Of course I would love to have my own kids one day, but if she couldn't I wouldn't love her less because of that.

"If you tell me that tonight meant nothing to you I'll let you go."

When she didn't say a word, I knew I still had a chance to change her mind.

"Listen to me Jacob…I want you to be happy. One day you'll thank me for this."

"You're kidding, right? I'm in love with you… You can't just leave like this."

There I had finally said it. I just wish she could say it back to me.

"You don't love me, Jacob. You just… You're just lonely." She said but I knew she was taken aback by my declaration. She was just too scared to admit the same. "We were rejected by the people we loved the most and you want to have someone by your side. I understand that… but one day you'll find the right girl for you and you'll be happy, like Sam. You'll leave me just like he did."

"I'm not Sam!" Now I was angry. Not only she was trying to deny her own feelings, she was also comparing me to Sam Uley. "Sam has nothing to do with what's happening between us. You didn't moan Sam's name inside that room, it was my name! So don't use Sam as an excuse. Don't use him to deny your feelings for me."

"I know you're not Sam." She conceded. "But you won't resist the pull once you imprint. I can't go through that pain again. I'm not going to be rejected a second time."

"I can't fight an imprint bond if you're with me." I assured her. I didn't know that for sure but I'd try. For her I'd do anything.

"That's impossible." She whispered. "I'm sorry but I can't stay with you."

"Yes, you can. You're mine Leah…I know you want me as much as I want you… You're just scared to admit that you love me."

"Even if I admit that I'm in love with you… That won't make any difference. You're too young and you'll imprint one day."

"Too young?" I couldn't believe she had pulled that card. Leah was four years older than me. Thanks to the wolf gene, I looked older than I really was but I guess our age gap still made her feel embarrassed somehow. "I didn't know my age was a problem too! I never heard you complain the first time though."

She blushed heavily.

"I wasn't thinking straight…I was vulnerable and…"

"It was my first time with a girl…" I cut her off. "I was scared that I wasn't good enough for you… and I was also scared that you might think I had taken advantage of you. You can't imagine what I felt when you left. I thought all sort of things. I thought you hated me… I thought you were using me to forget about Sam."

"I wish I could hate you." She confessed. "I never thought I could actually be in love again. I never planned falling in love with you."

She placed her head against my bare chest and I felt her tears rolling down her cheeks. Then she slowly hugged me and we stood there in silence for a while.

"Give me a chance Leah."

She lifted her head to meet my eyes and kissed me. It was a slow and sweet kiss that tasted too much like goodbye.

"You made me love again. You fixed my heart and I will never be able to thank you properly for that. My heart belongs to you Jacob but your destiny doesn't include me."

"Imprinting is rare." I insisted. I loved her but she was so damn stubborn. "You can't be sure about it."

"You are the rightful alpha… you have to imprint."

"You're the only woman who ever phased. There's always an exception."

"I'm a freak. Some genetic mistake."

"Carlisle has a few theories about our pack. He believes that there might be a reason for you to phase."

"It doesn't matter Jacob. There's no way to change what I am or reverse it."

She tried to break free from my grip but I wasn't ready to let her go yet.

"Thank you for being my friend and staying by my side when I needed someone. Thank you for making me feel loved again. I wish things were different." She said and she sounded sincere.

"I wanted to tell you that I love you before the battle with the Volturi." I confessed.

"I wanted to tell you when the battle was over." She admitted.

I couldn't believe this was happening again. Only now was hurting even more because we had finally admitted we had feelings for each other but she still refused to trust me.

Not wanting to let go I locked our lips again to taste her one more time and make her change her mind though I knew she wouldn't.

"Don't leave me." I begged.

"I'm sorry…I love you but I can't stay."

She had finally said the words I wanted to hear the most but she didn't change her mind in the end. She slipped away from my arms and she got inside the car as quickly as she could. I knew I had lost her when she started the car.

"Leah…I love you." I declared holding the car's door.

"I know and that's why I have to go. With some luck you'll forget everything about me soon." I could tell she was fighting her tears back and so was I.

"You're wrong. I won't forget about you… and I won't imprint."

She drove away and never looked back. I stood there for what seemed to be years. It was like I was rooted to the floor. The sky was still crying snowflakes when I suddenly felt someone beside me.

"It didn't go as planned." Edward said.

_What a fucking genius, this one._ I thought bitterly.

"So, what did I do wrong this time?"

"I can't honestly tell Jacob."

For once Edward Cullen was out of words.

"Any more brilliant ideas?"

"I guess you should've stayed locked in that bedroom after all."

I ignored the fact that he had probably been spying on us while we were making love. As disturbing as that sounded, it didn't matter anymore. I was sick of arguing.

"I would gladly do it if Leah hadn't left me."

"I'll see what I can do." Edward said and then he left running. I thought about going after him but Leah was too stubborn to listen to me right now. Maybe Edward could put some sense into her thick skull, maybe he would succeed where I had failed.

_Now what?_ I asked myself. Should I go back inside and relive what happened between us in the past few hours? Could I handle it? I would probably end up lying down on the bed, trying to hold on to Leah's scent that was probably still lingering on the sheets.

_Too weird and depressing._ I decided.

Should I tell Seth that his sister was gone? What would I tell him when he realised Leah had left without an explanation? Would he suspect anything?

Seth was innocent and naïve but he wasn't _that _stupid. He would realise I had something to do with Leah's disappearance and this time I don't think I'd be able to lie in his face. But how should I start the conversation?

_Good morning Seth, your sister and I slept together last night and even though we're in love with each other she decided to leave because she's too scared that I'll imprint. So she won't be here for our Thanksgiving dinner and she's not likely to come and visit you anytime soon. Oh and by the way, it was not the first time we slept together._

I could imagine Seth's face. He would probably phase and try to rip my head off. And the weirdest thing was I deserved it. He had a very good reason to hate me and kill me. I wasn't a good leader or even a good friend. All I had managed to do was hurt his sister. I had made a mess of everything and now I couldn't fix it.

I realised then that I wouldn't be able to talk to Seth and I didn't want to stay there anymore. I was hurt and confused and I wanted to be alone. I wasn't in the mood to celebrate Thanksgiving or any other holiday.

I went inside the bedroom and tried to ignore our scents combined. I took my bag pack out and put some clothes in it together with her nightdress that she had forgotten under the bed. I was ready to leave the 'crime scene' when Edward returned.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm not going after her… I just need some time alone."

"That's not a good idea."

"And staying here is? Because I don't know if you noticed but I'll have a lot to explain to Seth and Sue in the morning and I don't think they'll like to hear the truth."

"Don't tell them."

I put my bag pack on the floor.

"Okay… First you were all like '_Tell the truth! You need to admit your feelings!_' Bla bla bla… and now you don't want me to tell the truth. I'm confused as it is, okay? I don't need you confusing me even more! What the hell am I supposed to do now?"

"Jacob… Listen to me…" He asked in a calm voice. "I spoke to her and I realised she's more complicated than I thought."

"Don't you think I know that?"

"She loves you for a while now. She's been trying to deal with her feelings the best way she can but it's not easy when she's been hurt by the imprint bond before."

"I told her I'm not Sam!"

"I know, but she's scared. Leah is willing to sacrifice her own happiness for you. She wants you to have a happy ending."

"I can't have a happy ending without her."

"Unfortunately she doesn't know that yet but she will…soon."

"Just like she would stay if I told her I loved her, right? I just did and she's gone." I spat. He was just guessing. "You know shit about Leah!"

"I read her mind just now. She's confused, scared and distraught about leaving you again. She didn't stay because she thinks she'll lose you to the imprint. She thinks she's not good enough for you because she can't have children and she believes that once you find your imprint, you'll feel guilty about hurting her."

"I will never hurt her." I whispered more to myself than to him.

"If you go now, you'll only prove one thing."

"What?"

"That you always run away from your problems."

I sighed. What was I supposed to do? Maybe it wasn't the best option but it was definitely the easiest one.

"Stay here. Tell Seth and Sue that you two had an argument. Tell them you both lost your tempers and said harsh things to each other. Tell them she ended up leaving because you would probably end up hurting each other."

"So you basically want me to lie." I accused.

"You did argue." He defended himself.

"Her scent is all over me. Seth will be suspicious."

"A few showers will be enough to camouflage that."

"And what will I do after tomorrow?"

"Wait for her."

"For four more months?" I inquired. "And then what? We'll meet again, we'll have sex, she'll realise I can't be trusted because I don't have an imprint and she'll leave me again… I don't want her like that! I want to be with her every day, do what other couples do…"

"Leah belongs to one place alone. She just doesn't know it yet."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean she belongs to La Push. She belongs to you and she will realise it one day or another. And when she does, you need to be waiting for her. If you love her as much as you say you do, you will be there waiting."

"What if… What if that's not enough?"

"Then make it be enough Jacob. Make the right choice."

**To be continued…**

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Thanks for all the reviews and support:

teamtorettosupporter, Blackwater Crazziii, Cracker679, TheSkeptic88, Jeakat, Tara Maria, Queen Leti, Firefly-class, MelkiSihou, brankel1, Kwop, MoliWood, rocklesson86, crystal, Weave the Magic, WEML101


	11. Ep 11 - Heart Line parts 1, 2 & 3

Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer not me.

Author/Note 1: This one-shot follows what happens during chapter 28 of _Our Dawn 2_ following Leah's departure on Thanksgiving's eve and her return to La Push upon knowing Sue has a brain tumor. The chapter is divided into three parts, each part has a different narrator.

A/Note 2: I'm not a native English speaker so I'm sorry for my grammar and spelling. Thank you for reading.

**_Our Dawn Series Specials_**

_**Episode 11 – Heart Line (part 1)**_

_**Leah Clearwater**_

Why do I keep doing this to myself? I should've left the moment I heard his steps outside my bedroom. No, I should've left as soon as I could smell him when he arrived with the vampires. But my heart betrayed me. My emotions failed me. And my defenses came crumbling down when he touched me.

How could I be so stupid? I shouldn't have allowed him to touch me. Actually, I shouldn't have allowed him to be anywhere near me. But I was so happy when he said that our night together wasn't a mistake. I was on cloud nine when he said he had feelings for me and he wanted us to be together.

I should've known better though and now was too late. As soon as we crossed the line for the second time, I knew there would be consequences. Consequences I would rather not be facing right now.

I had gone to Dawson with one purpose only. I wanted to see my family. I missed Seth and mum so much for the past four months that I was even willing to sacrifice my nose and my patience and celebrate Thanksgiving with eight leeches who smelled worse than a public toilet.

But instead of a happy family reunion I had ran into a trap. As soon as I saw him, I knew I was a fly in a spider's web. The only thing that kept me from fleeing was my brother. He would know something was wrong if I left.

And in the end I was forced to do it anyways. After a dreadful dinner I let myself get fooled again. Unable to think rationally, I had spent another night with Jacob and things got all messed up so I had to leave. It wasn't a choice. It was the best thing to do in those circumstances.

The mind reader advised me to stay. He said that he had once made that mistake too. The difference between our situations was large though. Edward left because he thought his girlfriend was dead but she wasn't and when they returned from Italy she took him back in a heartbeat. As for me, Jacob might wait for me for a while but then, one day he will meet his imprint and I will be gone from his memory for good.

Sam did the same. He promised to love me but one look at Emily and I lost him. Why would it be any different with Jacob? He was a wolf, La Push's rightful alpha. His genes were too important to be wasted with a barren freak of nature like me. His imprint would make sure to give him healthy children and a never ending happiness, something I could never give to anyone. I could never make him happy, not in the way he truly deserved.

I didn't even know if I could be a normal girl again after I stopped phasing. The chances were slim. I suspected the wolf gene had already damaged my body for good which meant I would never be able to have a family of my own. We could try to have a relationship but it would always have a limit date. I sighed while I kept driving south.

_I will give up on love._ I decided. Love was out of my future from the moment I had left Jacob Black in the Cullen's backyard that night. Love was for the lucky ones and for the fools. I wanted nothing to do with it anymore. Maybe one day I would go back to La Push without feeling this huge pain inside my chest. One day I would accept that all of my pack brothers would have their happy endings. And I would understand.

But for now that was a reality that made me angry. What had I done wrong? Why could they all be happy but I couldn't?

_While they'll be teaching their children how to walk, talk, ride a bicycle, I'll be bitter and alone until the end of my days. _That was not a happy perspective. The best thing I could do was to be miserable and bitter away from the Reservation so I could at least keep some dignity.

It was almost lunch time when I finally reached Gold Beach. I stopped the car outside my lonely apartment and kept my hands on the wheel. I knew I should leave immediately in case Jacob and Seth came looking for me. Edward knew where I was living now and he would tell them soon enough.

I rested my head back on the seat and closed my eyes for a moment. What a mess… why did I have to fall in love with _him_? Wasn't Sam enough? Why Jacob? Why did I have to turn everything so damn complicated? We were supposed to be friends, alpha and beta, not lovers. Once you put love in the mix, you get an explosive cocktail and this is the result: a broken heart and an empty apartment.

I didn't bother to carry my bag up to the apartment. I was planning on leaving after a few hours of sleep.

When I woke up I felt I had slept for months and I was still feeling tired. I looked to my left and realised it was sunny outside though it should be dark.

"Leah, it's time to get up babe. We need to go."

My heart almost jumped out of my chest when I saw Jacob coming inside my bedroom wearing only a towel around his waist.

"Did you see my blue shirt? The one Rachel gave me on my last birthday?"

I had no idea what was going on but I was pretty sure I wasn't hallucinating. Jacob was there with me in my bedroom asking me where is shirt was.

"Babe, you need to get up. We still need to prepare the kids."

"Kids…?" I mumbled. What the hell was he talking about? What the hell was going on?

"Yeah…kids. Seth's picking them up in twenty minutes so we can go talk to Carlisle."

"Why? What the hell are you doing here? How did you find me? It was Edward, wasn't it? That son of a…" I stopped talking when I saw that Jacob was looking at me as if I were crazy.

"Are you okay?" He put a pair of jeans on and made his way towards the bed. I jumped automatically to other side of the bed so he wouldn't touch me.

"Don't come any closer." I warned him. "I don't want you in my bedroom. Leave now!"

"Leah… I think you're not well…"

"I'm fine. I just need you to leave me alone."

"I told Carlisle you were acting weird." He mumbled. "I guess he was right about hormones and moods…"

"Don't come near me." I warned him again when he circled the bed. When I tried to jump over it, Jacob grabbed my arm and picked me up gently. I never realised he was so damn strong.

"Be careful. That's my son you're carrying. I don't want you falling down or anything."

I blinked several times taking in his words before looking down.

"Fuck…" I blurted when I saw my belly. "How the hell did this happen?" It was a rhetorical question.

"I thought you had figured it out already Leah… I mean it's not our first child." He laughed and placed me on the bed. "Are you really okay?"

"I'm pregnant." I stated still shocked. How could I be pregnant?

"Yes." He replied with a grin. "You are pregnant. But you never complained the other times."

"How can this be?"

"Do you really want me to tell you that?" He asked. Since I didn't reply he explained briefly. "Four months ago we were at the Cullen's mansion celebrating Charlie's birthday and you came to me and said you were dying to come home and try our new bed… We left the kids with Sue and…You remember the rest right?"

I looked down to hide my embarrassment though I'm pretty sure I blushed. I didn't remember that night but I didn't need more details to figure out what had happened. I was old enough to know how it worked.

"I left you…on Thanksgiving in Canada." I said trying to remain calm. "We slept together and I left. I was supposed to be in Gold Beach." I recalled.

"You were in Gold Beach for a while Leah. But then I found you, brought you home and we got married." He was giving me a weird look again. "Did you fall and hit your head? I think you have amnesia."

"I don't remember any of that."

"Look at your left hand."

I did what I was told. There was a wedding ring of my finger.

"Now look at you wrist."

The word 'Jacob' was tattooed on my left wrist. It was an old tribal tradition to tattoo the name of your husband or wife on your left wrist.

Jacob raised his own wrist to show me his tattoo. I could read my name on it. Still, I needed more proof.

"That ring was my mother's. I put it on your finger the night of our wedding. That was ten years ago babe…" He explained as if he could read my doubts. "That night we said our vows on First Beach before our closest friends in a tribal ceremony and then we spent our honeymoon in a motel outside Forks. I'm pretty sure we conceived Harry that night…"

"We have a son?" I was beyond astonished now.

"We have three sons and a daughter." Jacob approached me again and put a hand on my forehead to see if I had a fever. "Well four sons actually. We found out last week we're having another boy."

"That's not possible."

"Look…" Jacob lifted my nightdress up to my navel and I watched four dates tattooed on my belly. It was another tribal tradition. Women used to have the dates their children were born written on their belly with a blazing knife or iron. Nowadays we preferred tattoos though. It was less painful and less dangerous.

"That was Harry." Jacob touched the first date with the tip of his finger and I felt chills all over my body. "He was born nine months after we got married."

"I don't remember having him…"

"Let me refresh your memory. You yelled at me the entire time. You threatened to kill me if I ever touched you again. You even made me promise we wouldn't have more." He smiled. "And three months later you were pregnant again."

I looked at his eyes. He didn't seem to be lying about this.

"That's William." He touched the second date. "It was raining when he was born and I was working late. Emily took you to the hospital and when I got there you passed out from the pain and the doctors had to do a C-section."

"I feel like this is all a lie." I could feel the tears coming already because I didn't want it to be a lie. "If this is a dream I don't want to wake up." I whispered to myself.

"Two years later we had Zac. I was hoping for a girl but you always said it would be a boy. And a boy it was. You wanted to call him Simon and I wanted to call him Liam, and so we settled for a different name after four hours debating. And then a year later we had Sarah, our princess… You craved chocolate chips during Sarah's pregnancy. I had to go the store every day to buy it for you. For nine freaking months…"

"I was supposed to be barren." I suddenly remembered. "I'm a wolf, I can't have children."

"You were a wolf. And so was I. We decided to stop phasing so we could have a family. The Cullens only come here once a year and they only stay for a couple of days. We stopped phasing six months before you accepted to be my wife."

Could this be true? If I was dreaming why was Jacob's scent so real? Why was his touch so warm? Maybe I was suffering from temporary amnesia.

I put my right hand over my belly and closed my eyes. I wish I could feel the baby moving, so I would know it wasn't a dream.

"Jacob? Is this real?" I asked. "Do we really have four kids?"

"Five." He put his hands on top of mine. "In five months you'll have a fifth tattoo for Jacob Ephraim Black."

"Why can't I remember?"

He shrugged.

"We'll ask Carlisle when we go there for your check up." He suggested. "In the meantime, maybe if we practice a little bit before your brother's arrival, you'd remember how the kids were made?"

Before I could answer, Jacob removed my nightdress and pushed me back onto the bed. I didn't resist him much. Pregnant women had sex all the time so I didn't care about it as long as he was careful. Soon I realised he knew exactly what to do. As he kissed my collarbone, I had started a struggle with his jeans which amused him quite a lot.

"I know you can't resist my charms but you should slow down. Seth's always late so we have time."

I hardly heard him. I wanted him too much.

"Shut up and kiss me Jacob. I miss you so much…"

"But we did it last night."

"I miss you all the same."

He smiled and kissed me passionately.

And then the loud sound of someone knocking on my front door woke me up. I sat down on the bed and realised Jacob wasn't there with me, I wasn't pregnant, I didn't have a wedding ring or tattoos, and my face was still wet from my recent tears. It was a dream. I nice dream but it was all fake.

_Get over it Leah. You should've known better. _I was an idiot. The fact was this: only in a dream I could have my happy ending. Marrying Jacob, having his kids, be loved by someone, it was something I would never know unless it was a dream. And I had to stop dreaming.

It wasn't healthy to keep dreaming about him and what we could've had. I had to let go and forget about Jacob. He'd meet his imprint soon enough and I'd be dumped again.

"Leah! Open up!" I recognised Elizabeth's voice. "I saw your car outside. I know you're in there!"

"You better open up or I'll call the cops." Maria threatened.

I opened the door and they made me step back so they could get inside. I already had a few of my things packed up because before leaving for Canada I already knew I'd probably have to move out of Gold Beach.

"Weren't you supposed to be in Dawson?" Maria asked.

"Are you going somewhere?" Elizabeth inquired watching my bags.

"Well…I changed my mind. And yes, I'm leaving." I blurted. Why lie? They would've realise sooner or later that I was gone and I never liked lying so I decided to be honest with them.

"Why?" Both girls asked.

"It's time to move on. I never meant to stay here for so long."

"Today?"

"Today is as good as any day."

"But what about us?" Elizabeth sounded a little hurt by my indifference.

I shrugged.

"I should've told you. I'm sorry. It's just that I don't like goodbyes."

"At least let us pay you a drink. Callie and Allison won't forgive you if you leave like this."

"Okay." I agreed.

xxxxxxxxxx

I ended up staying one more week. That was my last day in Gold Beach. I went to work as I usual and by six o'clock I returned home to prepare for my departure.

A few hours later I had showered, eaten a light meal, sold my laptop, packed everything I had on my car and then I walked inside the small bar where my friends were expecting me. They all raised their glasses when I arrived.

"So you're leaving." Callie said. "Will you miss us?"

I nodded.

"Sure."

Callie and I had a few things in common so she was the one who had taken my departure the worse.

"JD is coming later." Maria announced. "He's at work."

"It's fine. I'll wait a bit."

Jeremy Dalton was Maria's new boyfriend. Her brother Christian didn't like him much but so far, JD was the Maria's only boyfriend who had stepped up against Christian when he was bossing his sister around.

Apparently twin brothers had that tradition. Or so Maria told me. Chris and Maria were twins but Chris was born first so he had the habit of bossing his twin sister as he pleased. Usually Maria did what he told her to do. I remember Rachel and Rebecca were similar. Rachel had always been the bossy twin while Becca was more submissive. Thankfully my family didn't have any twins for me to deal with.

Johanna and Rob arrived shortly after. Rob was in a bad mood because his baseball team had lost its match.

"I need a drink." He announced. "Who wants one?"

We all did and many drinks later, only Callie and I seemed to be sober enough to have a decent conversation. Rob was crying about the lost match and the money he had lost in a bet. Johanna was trying to console him in vain. Christian was talking to the barman about computer games but I doubt he'd remember that talk in the morning. Allison was somewhere in the bathroom with Maria, probably throwing up. Neither of them seemed to be able to take much alcohol. As for Liz, she was dancing with a guy she claimed wasn't her boyfriend even though this was their third date.

"So… Leah… What are you running away from?" Callie asked. She wasn't drunk yet but she was close enough. Still Callie seemed to be able to read people in a weird way, either she was drunk or not, so I decided to answer.

"Life…Love…you pick one." I replied.

"That bad huh? Sore break up?"

"To begin with…" I sighed.

"I could help you if you'd let me see."

"Let you see what?"

"You know I'm half Native-American, right?"

I nodded. It was perceptible by the colour of her skin.

"I can see things…feel things…" She whispered. "My mother's blood has… old magic in it. At least that's what my grandmother used to say. Many people called her the 'seer' because she could see things other people couldn't."

"The future?" I tried. I wasn't surprised. Alice Cullen could do the same and I could phase into a giant wolf. Magic was part of my life for a long time now. But sometimes Native-American people claimed to have powers and in reality they were just a hoax.

"Amongst other things." Callie confirmed.

"And you can do the same, right?"

"Not exactly." She rolled her eyes. "Give me your hand and I'll show you."

After a few seconds, I accepted her challenge. Maybe she could find a way to make me forget about the pain I was feeling since the alcohol wasn't working.

"This is your heart line. It tells me everything I need to know about you."

"Rellay? Such as?"

"You lost people you love." She said when she closed her eyes and held my hand. "And you feel guilty about it."

_My father._ I thought immediately. She had my attention now.

"You've been hurt by someone you loved and you have conflicted feelings about it."

_Sam and Emily. _

"You never thought you'd love again but you found it again when you least expected."

_Jacob. _

"And I lost him the next instant." I said out loud making Callie open her green eyes to look at me.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because it's the truth. We are not meant to be."

"That's not what your heart line says. I'm pretty sure he's the one."

"Oh, he _is_ the one… I just realised it too late. He has a soul mate to find and let's just say, I'm not into sharing."

"So you're quitting?"

"I can't win against destiny. He won't even remember me after he finds her."

"What if he doesn't find her?"

"He will." I stated. "He has to. He'll need to have a family someday and I can't…provide him that." I grabbed my glass and drank the rest of my margarita.

"You can't have children?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Are you sure?" Callie insisted.

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"That's weird…"

"What's weird?" I asked. _Besides my whole damn life._ I thought bitterly.

Callie was observing the palm of my hand carefully and making small comments about the lines that crossed there. I didn't know what she could possibly be seeing on my hand but it sure looked interesting. Either that or she was completely wasted.

"I can't see your infertility problems." She said after a while.

"I can't have children. That's all you need to know."

"But you have five small lines in your hand…"

"Five?" I all but laughed. "Five kids? You've got to be joking!"

Either she was joking or she had hacked my latest dream. I would bet on the first option because right now, I was pretty sure Callie didn't have a gift like she thought she had because if that was true she would've seen that I would never be a mother.

I guess so far she had some lucky guesses.

"You almost made me believe you can read the future." I told her. She put on a pouting face.

I removed my hand from hers and I ordered another drink. Now I wanted something strong, something with vodka because all that talk about Jacob and kids was depressing me.

"So you broke up with the guy you're in love with because you can't have children?" Callie charged again.

"Drop it Callie." I really didn't want to talk about it. "But we didn't break up, we never started going out to begin with. We just… we were together twice and it won't happen again. He has a great future ahead. An imp… a soul mate, a perfect family, a good life. When that happens, I'll be happy for him, but I won't be able to stand by and watch him every day knowing I wasn't good enough for the second time. That's why I need to go."

"Who said you're not good enough? Was it him?"

"No… He tried to convince me to stay with him. He's such an idiot. It would never work between us and he knows it, he's just too stubborn to accept it."

"Why do you say it wouldn't work?"

"Because he's everything I am and everything I'm not. And he's too good to be true… Too loyal, too kind, too strong, too optimistic. I never thought I'd feel this way about him after what happened with my first boyfriend. It's just that it's so easy to love him. He was always there or me but I can't ruin his life."

"Seems like a nice guy to me Leah."

"He is. That's the irony of it all."

Amongst other things, of course. Who would've guessed I would fall for Billy and Sarah's son one day? Who would've thought that after Sam I would fall in love with another wolf? Who would've guessed I would have the best night of all times with a 17-year old virgin?

"Is he good looking?" Callie smiled mischievously at me.

"Definitely."

"Better looking than Matthew McConaughey?"

"Yes."

"Brad Pitt?"

"Absolutely."

"Adam Levine?"

"No doubt about that."

"Josh Holloway?"

"Of course."

"Tom Cruise?"

"Let me see..." I pretended to hesitate. "Well he's a lot cuter than Tom. So yes he's better looking than Tom Cruise."

"Then you should definitely keep him. Maybe he's trying to reach out to you and you just need to take his hand."

It was nice of her to try to cheer me up and lift up my moral but my decision was made. I was leaving before Jacob, Seth or any of the Cullens could come to take me back. I wasn't going to stand in Jacob's way of finding the girl of his dreams.

So what if he loved me? So what if my heart line said he was the one? He was the one for me, but I wasn't the one for him, so why bother? I would never be anyone's second-best. Jacob was young and strong. He had survived Bella's rejection so he would certainly survive this heartbreak too.

"I have to go." I suddenly said. I needed to get out of there and move on to another chapter.

"I know you don't believe I have a gift but one day you will. You and I will see each other again...maybe not for some years, but when you make your final decision, you'll understand many things that now seem confusing and we'll definitely meet again."

"Sure, sure..."

"I'm serious. And by the way, Isaac is a good name. He'll be a great leader, probably better than his father."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Callie just smiled while I stared at her.

"Sometimes, I really think you're crazy." I shook my head.

"I know. Now come on, you need to say goodbye to the others." Callie grabbed my hand and pulled me into the ladies bathroom to find Allison and Maria.

When I walked into my car two hours later than I had planned I felt I was doing the best thing. It hurt like hell to know that I'd be all alone afterwards but there was no other option for me.

_A street doesn't have only one way, you know? Sometimes you have to let other people in. _

Callie's words were still on my mind when I left Gold Beach. But Jacob was on my heart.

_If only I could keep a part of him with me. _I thought.

_**Episode 11 – Heart Line (part 2)**_

_**Jacob Black**_

"Are you really going to get the harpy?" Paul asked me for the third time that afternoon.

"Yes."

"Are you sure it's wise? Didn't you two have a fight on Thanksgiving?"

Seth should've been quiet about that but ever since his mother had gotten sick, I couldn't blame him. Seth had always been a good kid and loved his family deeply. When Sue was diagnosed with a brain tumor right after Thanksgiving, Seth had changed.

He felt that he was losing everyone he had ever loved. His father had died, his sister had left and now Sue was sick. Both packs were trying to help though we had no clue what to do to make him feel better.

"I owe it to Sue. She's sick and wants to see her daughter. Since I was the one who caused her to flee that night, I should be the one bringing her home." I explained as if Paul were a 5-year old.

"You don't even know where to start looking."

I didn't know where Leah was but Edward had advised me to go to Gold Beach, where she had lived for a few months. Maybe some of her friends knew her location or had her contact. Right now everything that had happened between us was hanging on the sidelines, Sue's health was the priority and I couldn't fail. She had to come home.

"Why are you here Paul?"

"Sam wants to know if you thought about joining the packs."

"I didn't. I told him I wouldn't think about it until Sue gets better."

"He also said that…if you want you can take someone from our pack with you and…since we're going to be family soon, I was wondering if you'd want me to come along."

"Seriously? You want to help me find Leah?" I almost laughed in his face. "What have you been drinking? Gasoline?"

Paul pouted.

"We're going to be brothers-in-law… I was just trying to help."

"I don't need your help Paul. You've always mistreated Leah…why would I take you along?"

"She mistreated me too." He defended himself. "And you as well…Actually Leah never cared about any of us. She was just a cruel, vicious bitch…"

I glared at him and if Rachel hadn't walked inside my room that very moment, I would've punched him in the face.

"Don't be so hard on Leah. She is just going through a bad time." Rachel said and Paul shrugged.

"If you want to go by yourself, fine. I have other things to do anyway…"

I closed my bag and walked outside. I was sick and tired of wasting my time in La Push.

"Jake…make sure she comes home. Don't argue with her… You're not twelve years old anymore." Rachel yelled from inside our house.

"Show her who's the boss!" Paul mocked.

I rolled my eyes and left. Edward was waiting for me outside the Reservation, just like he had promised. He gave me his car keys and told me to be careful on the road.

"One more thing… This might help you." He handed me a paper with seven names."

"Elizabeth Hamilton, Calleigh Colburn, Maria Ortega… What's this?"

"Leah's friends when she lived in Gold Beach. Talk to them, see if they have heard of her…"

"Edward…please, I know what to do for crying out loud."

"Fine...Don't mess up again."

I glared at him perfectly aware that my glaring skills were nothing compared to Leah's so he didn't even flinch.

"I'll bring her back." I assured him. He simply nodded and disappeared between the trees.

I had to open the car's windows to be able to breathe while I drove south, towards the state of Oregon. The leeches' scent was horrible and Edward used to drive that car often.

All my hopes of finding Leah resided in the small town of Gold Beach and the list of seven people Edward had given me. Oddly I wasn't nervous about finding her anymore. There was only anxiety and worry. Anxiety because I didn't know how she'd react upon seeing me after the Thanksgiving's fiasco. And worry because I didn't know if I'd be able to find her in the time.

If I weren't so worried about finding Leah, I'd definitely enjoy the trip to Oregon. The landscape was amazing, especially in the winter. Some high locations were starting to be covered by the snow but the roads were clean and I only had to slow down when I had to look for directions.

A lot of people were in the road to visit their families for Christmas. As Native-Americans we weren't devoted Christians but we celebrated Christmas, giving presents and having a family dinner. Kids loved this time of the year.

Hours later I parked Edward's silver Volvo outside a small restaurant near Riley Creek Elementary School. According to Edward's investigations Elizabeth Hamilton and Calleigh Colburn both worked in a restaurant near one of Gold Beache's schools.

The Cassiopeia looked more like a coffee shop than a restaurant. There were four waitresses inside and only a hand full of costumers. I walked along the counter to check their names on the golden plates they wore on their uniforms.

"Sasha, Olivia, Wendy and...Callie." I muttered to myself. I had found one of the girls Leah had met. Now all I had to do was ask her if she knew where Leah was.

I sat down and waited for the girl to approach me. She wore her honey-coloured hair in a braid that reached her mid back. She had green eyes and a nice smile. Every costumer was welcomed with a sincere greeting. While her three friends were glancing discretely at me and whispering, trying to decide who would come to get my order, Callie ignored them and came closer.

"What can I get you?" She asked me. The other girls frowned because Callie had stolen them the possibility to talk to me. Not that I liked the attention, but usually girls had that kind of reaction whenever they were near me.

"Actually I'm here because I need your help." I decided to go straight to business.

"I'm sorry, I have a boyfriend already. I can call one of my friends to get here if you like."

"No...I'm not...Don't take this the wrong way. I'm not trying to flirt with you. I'm looking for Leah Clearwater... I know you were her friend."

Callie studied me carefully before speaking again.

"And you are?"

I paused. There was a possibility that Leah had instructed her friends to lie to me if I ever came here.

"I'm Seth. Leah's brother." I lied.

"Really? Oh my God... I can't believe I'm meeting the famous Seth. She talked so much about you." She touched my hand and then whispered. "My shift is almost over, wait for me outside, will you?"

I had no other option so I nodded and left. The sun was now setting and orange rays of light bathed the yard in front of me. A few people came by and left while I waited patiently for Calleigh Colburn to leave the restaurant. When I was wondering if she had left by the backdoor, the girl came outside wearing a completely different outfit. Inside the restaurant she was wearing a pink blouse, black skirt and a green uniform. Now she was wearing blue jeans, a grey shirt and a black jacket.

"So...you're Seth..." She began.

"Yes."

"And you're looking for your sister?"

"Yes." I confirmed again.

"She didn't call you?"

"Not since Thanksgiving." I said. "She met me in Canada and then vanished. I can't even contact her by email."

"I see...Well Leah was always a lone wolf, you know? Even when she was here."

I nodded, not knowing if Callie knew we could phase into wolves. I decided not mention anything about it though.

"Can you help me? Did she tell you where she was going?"

"No, she didn't."

"Her...our mother is sick. She's having a surgery soon and she wants to see Leah."

"I'm really sorry about your mum... but Leah never said her destination and I haven't heard from her in a month."

A dead end. Edward told me about this possibility but I had refused to believe none of her friends in Gold Beach knew about her location. This was going to be a lot more difficult than I had expected.

"Are you hungry? Do you have where to stay for tonight?" Callie asked.

I had never thought about staying in Gold Beach because I had always thought someone would tell me where she was. But now I was lost.

"I would invite you over but my adoptive father doesn't like me taking boys home..."

"It's okay, I'll stay in a motel or something."

"At least let me offer you dinner. I can call the others and ask them if they heard of her." She suggest. "McDonalds?"

"Sure."

"You are taller than I expected. I thought you were her younger brother." Callie said when we sat down on an empty table at the local McDonalds.

"Yes, I am...younger."

"Really?

"Yes. I guess I have good genes."

"And a huge appetite." She laughed watching my three cheeseburgers and extra-large fries.

"I'm going to be on the road for a while, so... I need my stomach full. You don't have to worry, I'll pay."

Callie stick to her word and called her friends. She took nearly an hour contacting everyone. When she finished all the calls, my food was already gone and she had hardly touched hers. No one had heard of Leah.

"Leah was scared, you know?" She said putting her cell phone back in her purse.

"Scared? Leah doesn't fear anyone or anything." I stated.

"She was scared of her own feelings."

I looked into Callie's green eyes. Was it possible that Leah had told her about us? Did she know I wasn't Seth?

"What do you mean?"

"I had this feeling on the day I met her. I knew she was running away from something and when she left a month ago she told me she was leaving because she didn't want to be second-best."

"Sometimes Leah overreacts." I wanted to know more o what Leah had told Callie.

"There's a guy...Someone she cares about a lot. She's scared he'll hurt her. Do you know him?"

"I have an idea of who he is. Why?"

"What can you tell me about him?"

"He doesn't want to hurt her. He just wants her to let him in. He wants to prove he's different."

"And is he?"

"Yes. He knows what Leah went through and he'll never do the same. Sometimes he's a bit impulsive but all he wants is to make her happy, see her smile and be there for her always."

"I see... I should've told her...but I was afraid she would laugh at me or take it the wrong way." Callie mumbled. "Besides she clearly doesn't understand or believe my ability. That's why I kept quiet about her state."

"What are you talking about?" I asked. This girl was definitely weird.

"Leah thinks she's going to end up alone."

"I know."

"She believes she won't have a family but I saw otherwise. I saw it in her heart line."

"What did you see?"

"She's going to have five children though I can't assure if they will all survive. Actually she is already expecting a..."

Callie shut up when she looked at me. I was looking at her as if she had grown two heads. Too many questions were swimming in my head.

Was she serious? How could Callie state something like that? What proof did she have that Leah would become a mother? Could she really see the future like Alice?

"Leah...can't have children. She has a condition and she can't... you know..." I tried to explain. "Get pregnant...she can't."

"She told me about that and she didn't believe me either but I saw it."

"In her heart line?"

Callie nodded.

"What are you? A fortune teller?" I asked.

"It doesn't matter what I am, only what I saw."

"You told her she'll have kids?"

"Yes. Five to be more exact."

"You shouldn't have done that. Leah hates when you give her something to hope for and then fate comes and destroys everything. She can't have a baby and that's it."

"She will have five babies. One of them will help many people."

I rolled my eyes. This girl was nuts. I couldn't tell her about the wolf gene but honestly I didn't think it would make any difference. She truly believed she had seen Leah's future by reading her hand.

"You don't believe me either." She added in a sad tone.

"Look, I wish I could but...Leah's condition is real. I wish she could have a family of her own and I wish she could trust people a bit more but I know her better."

"Give me your hand." She blurted out of a sudden.

"Why?"

"So I can show you."

"Show me what?"

"That I'm telling the truth."

I didn't want to feed her nonsense even more but Callie looked desperate enough so I stretched my right hand and she held my it, closing her eyes.

"I thought you were supposed to look at it?"

"I have to establish a connection first."

"Connection with what?"

"Your soul."

I felt a sudden chill and then Callie opened her eyes, smiling.

"There. Now...Let me see..."

"Can you tell me how I'm going to die?"

"No. But I can tell you how you'll live."

_I can't believe I'm doing this._ I thought to myself. Leah was still out there somewhere and I was wasting my time with a fake fortune teller.

"You loved someone who didn't love you back." She stated. Her index finger was tracing the lines of my hand. "You fought a battle and you lost. But in reality you gained something. You found love again..."

Callie looked at me without blinking.

"You always want what you can't have." Callie continued. Leah had told me that once. "You will fight more battles. Your heart will remain faithful but you'll be conflicted."

Despite being a fake, Callie seemed to be a professional. Many people would believe she could tell the future because she did know what words to use to make you believe her. I wasn't one of those people though. She probably knew all of that because Leah had told her.

"You come from an important lineage and..." She raised her eyebrows and pulled my hand up to her nose to study something. "You lied..." She accused letting my hand go.

"About what?"

"I knew something was wrong as soon as I took your hand. You shouldn't have lied to me."

I was about to tell her who I really was when my phone vibrated. It was a text message from Edward.

_She's in Idaho. Alice found her. They're going to get her so she'll be here tomorrow evening. Go back to La Push and wait for her there. She's going to need you more than ever._

They had found her. Finally she was going home and I would have to drive all night long to return to La Push in time. But it didn't matter. Leah was all that mattered to me now.

"I'm sorry but I need to go." I told Callie.

"You found her?"

"My friends did. Thank you for your help."

"Tell Leah when you see her that she's right about Matthew McConaughey, Brad Pitt, Adam Levine and Josh Holloway, but not about Tom Cruise."

"What?"

"She'll understand." She glared at me. For a reason she seemed angry at me. "And I hope you know how to change diapers, because you're going to be doing it quite often in a few months."

I blinked several times not knowing what to say.

"Sure, sure."

This girl was _definitely_ nuts.

_**Episode 11 – Heart Line (part 3)**_

_**Calleigh Colburn**_

I never met my real mother. She died shortly after I was born. My dad used to say I killed her because she never came back from the Hospital after she had me. I believed him until I was around twelve years old. But then I grew up and I realised I didn't kill my mother, she died because when she had me, the doctor who performed the C-section was drunk and caused her a massive internal bleeding. She died because it was her time to leave this world.

When I was fifteen my father left. He said he was going to buy cigarettes and I never saw him again. I was glad. He was a drunken idiot who blamed everyone else about everything. When he didn't have money, he blamed his boss, even though he worked like three or maybe four weeks in a whole year. When he didn't have a pack of beers, he blamed my grandmother because she didn't buy him booze. When it was raining he blamed the gods. When he realised his life sucked he blamed me.

The first time he hit me I was about ten years old. My grandmother tried to take me away from him but he refused to let me go out of stubbornness. He knew he had no means to raise me. I endured it all because I knew he would go away.

He left on a Saturday morning and his body was found a week later. The police said it was a hit and run case, I called it karma. I knew he wouldn't come back from the moment he stepped out of the house. I knew many things that common people didn't.

My grandmother told me my mother had a special ability and she had passed it on to me. I couldn't guess the future or see what would happen to people but I could feel things, it was some sort of intuition that allowed me to understand and have a glimpse of other people's past, present and future.

Some people believed in my ability, others didn't and I was okay with that until I met Leah Clearwater. She was different from all the people I had met before. I knew from the moment I've seen her that our lives were connected.

"So what's the emergency? I had to ask Gail to cover for me." Johanna asked. At twenty-five she was the oldest of our group along with her boyfriend Rob. Johanna had dreamed about being a reporter but after two years in community college and many flunked disciplines, she realised she didn't want to study and began working at a local supermarket.

"He came here." I said. We had all met at Allison's place.

"Leah's brother...We know you called us." Lizzie crossed her arms over her chest. "I was about to go over to Mark's."

"Have you finally accepted to be his girlfriend?" Allison asked Lizzie who made a disgusted face.

"I've told you I don't like labels."

"He was not Leah's brother." I blurted out trying to get their attention.

"How do you know that? Did you ask him his ID?" Johanna inquired.

"I didn't have to."

"So what if he wasn't Leah's little brother. He was trying to find her, right? Can I go to Mark's now?"

"No! I said I need your help."

"With what?" Lizzie demanded.

"Leah's pregnant with his child."

Upon seeing my friends' faces I realised that maybe I should've prepared them for what I was about to tell them.

"Say what?" Maria asked for all four of them.

"I felt it when she let me read her hand the day she left. She's going to have a baby. And the guy who was here is the father of her child...children. They're going to have five children. Hopefully."

"Jesus Christ Callie, are you playing God again?" Johanna said. She was a skeptic along with Lizzie. They didn't believe my ability and had even tried to convince me not to trust my grandmother. A long time ago, when I wasn't even born, people used to say my grandmother's mother was a witch. No one proved anything though.

"I'm not playing God. I know what I saw in their hands." I insisted.

"What did you see? Are they going to get married? Are we going to be invited?" Allison was not only a believer but also a fan of my ability though she didn't quite understand what I could do.

"I've told you that night that Leah believed she couldn't have kids, remember?"

"Yes, and you also said that something was wrong because you saw she was going to be a mother." Maria recalled.

"Her alleged brother also believes she is barren, but I saw five children...and then when I held his hand...I saw he was going to father five children."

"My mum had two children." Lizzie said. "And so did all of my five uncles."

"Maybe her brother will have five kids too." Johanna suggested.

"Are you sure Leah's pregnant?" Maria asked me.

"Yes, I am. She's was carrying a child when she left."

"Maria, don't encourage this nonsense. If Leah were pregnant she would've told us." Lizzie said.

"She doesn't know." I explained. "Leah thinks she's barren, she doesn't know she's expecting a child."

"Even if Leah is pregnant, what can we do? She's gone." Johanna stated. "And apparently her family needs her now."

"The guy said his friends found her. We could go to Washington and tell her." I suggested.

"Seriously?" Johanna arched her eyebrows. "And what will you tell her?"

_"Hi Leah, it's nice to see you again. I know your mum is sick and you probably have a lot on your mind but you're pregnant. Oh and by the way the father is the guy who said he's your brother." _ Lizzie looked at me to see my reaction.

"What do you suggest then?"

"Nothing. I suggest we do nothing. Leah's old enough to make her decisions. If she had unprotected sex with a guy and got pregnant, she will have to deal with it her way. You can't do anything. It's her life."

"But you clearly saw it wrong because if Leah told you she can't have kids and her brother confirmed it too..." Johanna pointed it out. "It's all in your imagination Callie."

"He. Wasn't. Her. Brother." I firmed. "It was the guy who's in love with her. He's the guy she's in love with and the father of her child. And if I don't tell one of them that Leah's pregnant they might not stay together."

"That's life, Callie." Johanna shrugged. "Sometimes things are not meant to be."

"If Leah doesn't give birth to their third child, something really bad is going to happen. Isaac needs to be born seven years from now."

"Why?"

"Because when he's nineteen years old, he's going to be the only person to be able to save my life."

"You can't interfere, Callie." Maria held my hand. "I'm sure everything will turn out fine. Leah will have this baby and all the others you saw, and you're going to live a long life."

"When the baby is born, we could go see her at Washington." Allison suggested cheerfully.

I sighed in resignation. I didn't even know if Leah would keep the baby. But my friends were right. I wasn't allowed to interfere. Fate had to take its course. I wanted to help Leah. I wanted her to stay with the guy she loved. He could be a liar but he wasn't that bad. But for now, I would have to stay back and let fate act the way it should.

"So...who wants brownies?" Allison asked going to the kitchen.

Three other voices cheered while I just watched my heart line. Somewhere along that thin line, Leah's third child had his name inscribed in it.

**To be continued...**

* * *

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	12. Ep 12 - Meant to be

Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer not me.

Author/Note 1: This one-shot follows what happens during chapters 34 and 35 of _Our Dawn 2_.

A/Note 2: I'm not a native English speaker so I'm sorry for my grammar and spelling. Thank you for reading.

**_Our Dawn Series Specials_**

**_Episode Twelve – Meant to be_**

**_Jacob Black_**

There's a time in your life you think that things can't get any worse. I was feeling like that for a week now. Seven miserable days.

I wasn't as far from home as I wanted to be but it would have to work for now. After a week on the road I needed a rest. Sleeping inside the Rabbit was too uncomfortable for a 6'7'' guy like me and I didn't want to spend one more night parked on a service area somewhere in Reno.

I opened the door of the motel room and carried my bag inside. The furniture had a coat of dust indicating lack of cleaning for the past few months or maybe even years. The sheets on the bed were clean though. I put the bag on the bed and took a quick shower. It was almost ten o'clock and I had plans for tonight. A few miles from the motel I was staying at there were a few bars and I had plans to visit every single one. That was kind of a ritual for me now.

Unlike some of my friends, I never liked to go to bars frequently. But things changed a week ago and I decided I should change too because I was sick of sitting on my ass waiting for someone who clearly didn't care a rat's ass about me or about my feelings. I was tired of her mind games, her fucked up personality, her insecurities, her lies and lack of respect for everyone around her, especially me.

I had been an idiot trusting her. It had been stupid on my part to believe she could forget about Sam and move on. She had done quite a nice job convincing me she loved me a week ago but now I knew she was only trying to forget about him, she was just using me.

When Alice, Bella and Jasper found Leah and she returned to La Push to be with Sue I was there waiting for her. I drove non-stop all the way from Gold Beach to La Push to be able to be there for her. That night, she cried in my arms, terrified of losing her mother just like she had lost Harry not so long ago. And I held her tightly, I made sure she felt safe, and I only let her go in the morning when I realised someone could get suspicious about me spending the night at the Clearwater's place.

I stayed by her, I showed her I cared about her and when Leah chose to be on my pack instead of Sam's I thought that sooner or later, we would be official. I thought she was going to give me a chance.

Sue's surgery was a success and instead of putting pressure on her I gave Leah all the space she needed. I knew she wanted to have some time to be with her mother and help her through recovery. Besides I didn't want her to think I was that desperate.

But I should've known things wouldn't be so easy. Actually the words "Leah" and "easy" where complete opposites.

First she asked some time, then she told me she had a virus, and finally she vanished into thin air after the most amazing night of my life.

It was a full moon night and I noticed she was outside my house as soon as I stepped out of the shower. I had no idea why she didn't knock on the door and asked my dad to speak to me so I gave her a few minutes to come through my window and when she didn't, I pretended to be asleep. That's when she finally came to see me.

This time she took the lead, she came to me, not the other way around.

I never knew why she was there so late at night because Leah was the most complicated and unpredictable girl I had ever met but I could feel her anxiety. When she took her clothes off, I was beyond shocked but the moment she touched and kissed me nothing else mattered anymore. From that moment on I did what my instincts told me to do.

Leah's scent was different that night; it was sweeter, stronger and even more addictive. She set the pace, clearly stating her dominance. I let her took the lead because I felt that was what she wanted; I was compelled to please her and abide to all of her wishes. She didn't allow me to do much but I knew she was pleased with my performance as much as I was pleased with hers. She sure drove me insane with the slow motion of her hips. Just before reaching the edge I kissed her neck and she moaned my name a few times.

The wolf inside me was possessive and wanted more but once she fell on top of me, I knew I had to control myself. We kissed and I waited for her to fall asleep in my arms, thinking that I had won her heart at last.

That night I really felt she loved me. I felt she needed me in her life and I promised I would stay by her side and protect her. I also felt oddly protective about her. When she woke up a few hours later and started to get dressed, I begged her to stay with me. I could smell my scent on her, stronger than the other times we had slept together and I felt a primal need to force her to stay with me, sleep in my bed and wrap my arms around her again.

She declined, as I expected. She didn't want Seth to wonder where she was and she didn't want to meet my father and my sister in the morning. It would be too embarrassing. I didn't care that other people could learn about our relationship. I had put up with a lot of criticism in the past and I didn't regret anything.

Leah, on the other hand, wanted more time to prepare Seth and Sue so I let her go. Maybe she was right. Maybe I should talk to dad and Rachel before they'd find out about us. If dad caught us that morning he could have a heart attack.

My father loved Leah like a daughter. She was his best friend's daughter and she had helped taking care of my dad the years that followed Rachel and Becca's departure from La Push when I was thirteen. But he would freak out about us being together like that. He'd probably ask us if we were using protection and I didn't want to go through that right now. It was bad enough when he tried to give me the 'sex talk'.

I decided that we should remain a secret for the time being but when Leah disappeared without a trace, I changed my mind.

I was unable to control myself when I got Seth's phone call announcing that his sister had left him a farewell letter that morning. Of all people, Leah left _Seth_ a letter. And what did she leave me with? A broken heart for the third time! She had come to my house, my room, my bed; she had made love to me and instead of a letter what did I get? _Nothing_.

Was Seth the only person she cared about? Could she really be this cold? It was like her brother meant more to her than the guy she had made love to. I had never felt so used. Then what the hell was last night about? One last time for the ride? If that was the case, Leah had played me for a fool.

So, when Seth hung up the phone I was unable to control my anger and I wrecked my bedroom in the spur of the moment.

Rachel and dad walked inside, alarmed by all the noise of breaking furniture, but my rage was at its peak. Before I could phase I ran outside and went to the forest. My goal was to follow her scent, find her and question her about last night. I wanted to hear from her lips that she had been using me.

Despite my great abilities as a good tracker I couldn't find her scent anywhere. I search all of the area that surrounded La Push but there was nothing there. Several minutes later I had to accept the inevitable: Leah was gone. She had left me. She had enough of me and left for good.

And that's when I felt Sam's thoughts in my head. My anger returned, stronger than ever, because deep inside I blamed Sam for Leah's departure. She was still this cold person because Sam had dumped her. She couldn't love me because Sam had hurt her.

Therefore Sam deserved a punishment. And I was sick and tired of keeping my thoughts all to myself so I showed him. At first Sam didn't realise what he was watching through the mind link but then a vivid memory of me and his ex-girlfriend in my bed the night Emily had announced she was pregnant, mortified him.

I felt the tension, shock and anger building up. In that moment we were already face to face and I knew he wanted my blood. He was hurt because I had possessed something he thought would only belong to him. I, on the other hand, thought he had no right to be angry. He had imprinted and he had chosen Emily, he had married her, she was pregnant with his child. He had no right to claim Leah anymore.

It was not like Leah had cheated on him with me. She was free to do whatever she wanted as much as he was free to let her go instead of holding to their memories.

It was only when I showed him the memory of that night at Thanksgiving's eve that Sam acted. He slammed his massive wolf's body against mine and sent us rolling down a small hill. I could hear his insults but instead of feeling insulted I felt proud. That fuelled his anger even more.

I didn't quite understand what shocked Sam the most: the fact that Leah had allowed another man to have her or the fact that that person was me. Sam had finally learned every single sordid detail about my on-and-off relationship with his ex-girlfriend. He knew how I felt about Leah and how hurt I was when she had told me that she loved me but couldn't be with me because she was scared that I would imprint. And he knew she had feelings for me as well. He wasn't blind and he had noticed the changes in our relationship ever since his wedding day.

While we fought he told me I was an idiot. He told me we should've stayed away from each other because we were not meant to be together. He believed that there was no way Leah could love me like she had loved him. Besides there was the imprinting subject. Leah would never put herself in that position again.

I tried to prove he was wrong. If Leah was afraid that I could imprint that meant she did have feelings for me. Otherwise she wouldn't give a shit, right? But in that case why did she leave?

We kept fighting. Sam wanted to rip my head off as much as I wanted to rip his. Because of him Leah was too scared of loving another wolf. She had told me that herself that night in Dawson. She was in love with me but she couldn't stay because we wouldn't last. She was one hundred per cent sure I would imprint one day and I would leave her just like Sam had done.

'_Have you ever thought that she left because she was using you? Have you ever thought that she left because she still loves me and can't stand to watch me and Emily together with a child on the way? Have you ever thought she is jealous of Emily being pregnant?'_

Leave it to Sam to ruin a guy's hopes. He refused to believe that Leah had feelings for me. It was a lot easier to believe Leah was gone because she hadn't forgotten him instead of fearing I could imprint at any moment.

Thinking that what I had with Leah had only been an illusion and that she had just been trying to forget about Sam, that I was just a mere distraction to her was sickening. Unfortunately it also made sense. Leah was a complicated woman, with complicated feelings. The walls around her heart were too strong for me to break. Maybe in the end, she had just realised I could never take Sam's place. Maybe she loved me but she still loved Sam more.

I just quit this façade and let Sam win. Maybe he was right about Leah.

'_If she loves you, she would be here, wouldn't she?' _He asked me with arrogance.

After that I remember we changed back into our human forms. I hit him and he hit me and then Paul and Jared arrived and broke us apart. When we calmed down, I pushed Paul away from me, making him fall on his ass and left towards my house. I put on some old clothes and I packed a few things.

I remember Rachel begging me to stay and my father wheeling himself out of the house after me. I kept going and never looked back. I too had made my choice. I couldn't stay there any longer, not after that night. If I stayed in La Push I'd be unable to move forward. The only way to move on was to forget about Leah and live my life my way.

I weak ago I had started a journey hoping I'd find something better than what I had left behind. I was on a quest to find my true love, my soul mate, my imprint.

_You chose the easy way. _

For some reason my brain was against me walking out on the pack and leaving La Push. My subconscious kept telling me I should go back.

_You want the pain to stop but if it stops how will you know it was real?_

_It wasn't real. _I shot back. _Nothing was real._

_Her warmth was real. Her body melting every time you touched her was real. Her words were real._

_They were not! If she was serious about me, she would've stayed. She wouldn't have left me without a word after making love to me and after telling me she had no regrets. She was lying. _

_You're against imprinting. How can you prefer a magical bond over true love?_

_What true love? The first girl I loved married a freaking bloodsucker and now she's one herself. The second one…doesn't even love me enough to give us a chance._

_It's wrong. An imprint takes away your will. You won't be you anymore. You won't be able to choose who you want._

_It works for the others. Why can't it work for me?_

_Because you want something real. Because you're better than all of them._

_I just want this pain to be over. If she can live her life, so can I. I will show her that I can be happy without her. I won't sit around waiting anymore. _

If Leah returned to La Push one day she wouldn't find me there crying my eyes out for her. I was going to find my soul mate and rub it in her face. I was going to make her regret leaving me. She had her chance and she threw it away.

_I will find my soul mate and I won't look back. I won't remember the way Leah's body fit underneath mine, I won't remember the way she screamed my name when we were making love, I won't remember her sweet scent on my skin. This is my final decision. _

I left the motel a few minutes later with a mission. It was the same every night. I met several girls each time I went to nightclubs, bars, discos, but so far I hadn't found my imprint. Many women showed interest in me. I didn't enjoy receiving all that attention from women but I wasn't completely oblivious. I knew girls found me hot. And usually my night didn't end before getting a half a dozen sexual invitations. Some of the girls were actually cute, others not so much.

And even though I could have any girl I wanted, from the cheapest whore to the finest and classiest girl in the area, I always ended up sleeping alone.

_You still love her._ My conscience told me every night before I closed my eyes.

_I know. But she doesn't love me. _I answered back every time.

xxxxxxxxxxx

I had travelled around two or three states, visited several cities and met several girls and I hadn't found my imprint. A little more than a month was enough for me to understand that I was going the wrong way. The more I went farther away from La Push, the more idiotic and hopeless I felt, so I did the only thing I could do: I went back home, defeated.

When I left the reservation I wanted to find my imprint. I wanted to forget about Leah and move on but now I didn't know what I wanted anymore.

I didn't feel better than a month ago, the pain wasn't gone, the anger of being rejected still remained. All in all I was still a mess. I was still in love with Leah Clearwater.

My sister and my father were relieved when I arrived. Rachel even cried when she hugged me. My friends came to visit the next day. They were happy to know I had returned safe and sound, all of them except for good old Sam. He wasn't happy about my return, especially when he realised I hadn't imprinted yet.

We ended up arguing and we fought again but this time we didn't phase. We decided to set the scores as humans, not as rabid animals. Sam wanted to make sure I wasn't after Leah anymore and I wanted Sam to go to hell. It was a stupid argument that escalated quickly but had no major consequences. No one saw us fighting and we ended up going separate ways.

During the fight I learned that Sam hadn't spilled the beans about me and Leah to anyone, not even his pack which was a great deed. He was able to control his thoughts when he was patrolling so no one knew I had slept with her. Even though I couldn't care less about what other people thought, I was kind of glad that Sam had managed to keep it a secret since I didn't want Seth on my tail nor Quil and Embry making jokes about how I had lost my virginity to Leah Clearwater.

It had been a week since I had arrived to La Push and since I had fought with Sam. I was not feeling particularly happy today. Watching my sister getting married to an idiot wasn't exactly the idea of a good day. Rachel had postponed her wedding when I left and now that I was back she wanted to exchange vows with Paul before I changed my mind about staying.

Ever since last week people thought I was on the verge of insanity. Especially after the argument I had with Sue. After the fight with Sam, I went to Charlie's house in Forks to ask Seth for the letter Leah had left him. He wasn't home but Sue was and she asked me to leave her daughter alone.

She thought I wanted Leah to return to La Push so she could take my place as the pack's leader and so I could go back to Bella. She told me I was being arrogant, selfish and I should take my responsibilities like a man because I was Ephraim's heir and people were expecting me to act like it.

Upon hearing Sue calling me selfish, I flipped. I raised my voice and told her that her daughter was the one being selfish. I told her Leah was a coward for running away from us like that. I told her many other things that I probably shouldn't have but Sue kept defending her daughter.

In that precise moment I realised that Sue knew more than she was telling me. If Seth and Quil didn't arrive seconds later, I would've phased inside Charlie's house to force Sue into telling me truth. Since then, I wasn't allowed to be alone in public.

Thinking about it now, I was lucky Sue didn't rip my head off after that episode.

"You can go and have some fun." I said to Quil and Embry. "I won't do anything stupid on my sister's wedding party. Besides, Edward's here. If I think about attacking someone he'll know and he'll stop me."

Quil and Embry exchanged a worried look but then they both nodded and left. I sighed in relief. I was tired of having them following me everywhere. It made me feel like a criminal.

A few feet away from the place I was sitting, Paul and Rachel were dancing. I growled a little when I saw Paul's hands on my sister's waist but they were married now. They were going to have their happily ever after and I had to behave, so I diverted my eyes away from the newlywed couple and watched Paul's family talking to my father. James and Livia Lahote, Paul's parents, hadn't argued until now which was some sort of a record. Everyone in La Push knew James and Livia didn't have a normal relationship.

James Lahote, Paul's father, had always been a problematic kid, so my father said. His younger sister Evelin, Clayton's mother, and her friends used to be bullied by James and his gang. As he grew up, James started to hang out with the wrong people and his parents sent him to the Puyallup reservation, home of his maternal grandparents. There he met Livia Derley, knocked her up and they ended up getting married. When Paul was five years old, James left Livia and came back to La Push, bringing Paul with him.

A couple of years later James tried to have a divorce but Livia never signed the papers. When Paul was ten, his mother came to La Push to have a serious conversation with her husband and she stayed here ever since. They had a pretty fucked up relationship. They fought and argued in public, Livia used to leave James for weeks and return when things were calmer but they were still together. I guess that was why Paul was the way he was.

His father was hardly a role model. He only married Paul's mother because she got pregnant. He had never wanted the responsibility of having a child to take care of. Livia wasn't the best of mothers either. She had once told Paul she was supposed to have an abortion but changed her mind just to make James' life more of a hell. Recently there were even rumours about her having a lover, though no one knew who that man was or even if he existed.

"A child should never be blamed for coming into the world." Edward said sitting on the empty chair beside me. "A child can never be a mistake, even when he or she is unplanned. Right?"

I shrugged.

"I didn't know Paul was born in the Puyallup reservation." Edward kept talking even though he knew I wasn't interested in what he was saying.

"My Aunt Jane left years ago because she was in love with my father. Since dad was engaged to my mother already, she decided to leave La Push and she never came back. No one knows where she is. She didn't even come to my mother's funeral."

"Small talk, huh? You think I'm going to leave if you simply ignore me?"

"I hope so." I stated firmly. I had nothing to say to him. "Is there any more stuff you want to hear about my family or the people of La Push. I have quite a good story about my Aunt Emmie as well."

"How are you doing Jacob?" Edward asked ignoring my little rant.

"I'm fucking fine."

"Empty words."

"It's my sister's wedding. I'm happy for her." I sighed defeated. "She could've done a lot better than Paul Lahote but at least he won't leave her, since he imprinted on her."

"You fought with Sam again…" Of course he knew all about the fight. He was a mind reader and even if I wasn't thinking about it, Sam probably was.

I glanced over where the other alpha was with his family. The Lahote family was a minor branch of the Uleys. Charles Uley and Daniel Lahote, Sam and Paul's grandfathers, were cousins. Sam was holding his baby girl, Ella while Emily was preparing her bottle. He never looked my way but I knew he was aware of my presence.

"It's not my fault he's an ass." I stated.

"He's worried about you. Just like Embry, Quil, Seth…"

"He's not worried about me. He's hurt because I had her. His ego is bruised. He still thinks he has a claim on her."

"Maybe he is hurt...a little…but he's worried about you nonetheless. He's your friend."

"There's no need to be worried."

"I'm worried too." Edward confessed. "You're not well. You're confused, angry and hurt. A bad cocktail…"

"I don't understand. People were worried when I left… now they're worried because I'm back."

_And I am the one being accused of having a bipolar condition. _

"You argued with Sue, you forced Seth to give you Leah's letter, you don't want Quil and Embry around you. You're pushing everyone away from you. You're drifting away Jacob."

I would never admit it out loud but he was right. I felt that something had died inside of me. I just didn't know what to do to reverse the situation.

"Have you ever thought about why she left this time?"

"Because she's a sociopath who likes seeing other people suffering?" I tried. "Because she's still in love with that jerk?" I motioned my head in Sam's direction.

"I think that boat sailed a long time ago Jacob. Sam's in the past. I think that she would never leave you after telling you she has no regrets if she didn't have a good and valid reason."

"I don't care anymore." I lied. "She's gone, she chose her path, I'll choose mine."

"Maybe she's gone because of something far more important than your feelings."

I looked at Edward unable to read his expression. He was talking to me but his eyes were focused on Emily and Ella.

"A baby sure changes everything, doesn't he?" He asked. I shrugged. Was he trying to tell me something or was he jealous of Sam because he could never have children with Bella?

"I need a drink." I was about to get up when Edward held my wrist.

"Sometimes you have the answers right under your nose." Edward let me go and left towards his wife.

It was already dark when Paul and Rachel left to the airport. They were going on a honeymoon. Carlisle Cullen's courtesy, of course. Bella wanted to talk to me before leaving to Dawson but Edward kept holding her close and she just waved back at me before getting inside the silver Volvo.

Rosalie and Emmett were the last ones to go to their car. The blonde vampire was hypnotised by Sam and Emily's baby girl. Truth to be told, the tiny little girl was cute. Fortunately she looked more like Emily than Sam. Rosalie had a soft spot for kids and Emily let her held Ella a few times during the party. I had to confess that I did feel sorry for Rosalie. Despite her bitchy personality she would've been a great mother.

It was only when Rosalie waved and went inside her husband's car that I realised there was a familiar scent lingering in the air. It was a sweet scent but not like the Cullen's. It was more addictive and more intense. It made my heart jump and my skin was set on fire. It was Leah's scent, I was sure. But how?

The scent died when the vampires left. Why could I feel Leah's scent on Rosalie and Emmett? Had they hurt her? Had Leah spoke to them before leaving me? What was going on? Before I could start thinking about a way to find out what that meant, Seth materialised himself next to me.

"Can I have my letter back?" He asked.

"No."

"She left that letter to me." He pointed out.

"I know, but I haven't read it yet."

"It's not for you to read. It was for me. And I want it back."

"I'll give it to you as soon as I read it."

Seth glanced at me suspiciously.

"I'm not happy about my sister leaving either Jake, but you have to let her live her life. She doesn't want to be here. She wants to stop phasing and have a family."

I wanted the same, preferably with her.

"I'll give you the letter tomorrow, okay?"

As I was ready to leave the party, Embry and Quil rushed to my side, ready to follow me.

"I'm going home guys." I told them. "I need to rest. Will you take my dad home when the party is over?"

"Sure." Quil said. He and Embry went back to the party to drink, eat and dance some more.

I changed clothes as soon as I got home and I sat down on my bed with the folded letter on my hands. I had read it several times. And I read it again.

_Dear Seth, _

_I know I'm breaking a promise but I need to do this for everyone's sake. I take comfort knowing that you'll take care of mum and that the worst is over now. You can count on both packs to help you if you need and I'm sure doctor Cullen and the rest of the leeches will be there for you as well. I want you to know that I'm not doing this to hurt anyone. I wanted to stay, I really did. I was going to stay and try to embrace new challenges. I have many reasons to stay and only one to leave. You will know why I left one day and you will understand that I had no other option. I feel too confused to keep explaining it to you._

_I know many people will think I'm just running away again. They'll think I'm still in love with Sam but they're wrong. Sam is my past but he's not my present or future. I once thought I would never be able to forget about Sam, but I did. And I don't regret it because I became a much happier person after that. I was fixed, healed and I will never forget it. As I will never forget that you waited for me all of this time and you made sure to be by my side through the hard times. I thank you for that. I hope that one day you'll forgive me. I hope that you won't end up hating me for this. I love you._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Leah._

That last paragraph was for me but I didn't know what to think of it. She was thanking me and asking for forgiveness at the same time. And in the end she kept saying she didn't regret it and that she loved me. But if that was the case why did she leave? What was the reason she was talking about?

It was already dawn when I decided to go to Dawson. I knew Leah wasn't there but maybe Rosalie and Emmett knew something about her whereabouts.

I was able to leave the reservation unnoticed. I didn't believe I would find any answers with the vampires but I didn't have anything to lose either. A few hours later I reached the Cullen's property. There were no vampires around however there was definitely someone else there.

I could hear a regular heartbeat and an echo as well. The person staying at the Cullen's property was inside the small house that Seth and I had once shared and she was humming a tribal song that my mother used to sing when I was a child.

I phased back and got dressed quickly. If my senses were correct, the person in that house was Leah. My heart almost stopped when I walked inside and saw her. She was in my old bedroom. The walls that had once been painted in white, were now covered with a bluish colour and some shades of green. There were bags and clothes all over the large bed and Leah was standing in the middle of the room covered in a towel with her dark hair dripping.

When she saw me, her body tensed and I couldn't tell if she was scared or just surprised to see me.

"You've been here all along…" I mumbled as I walked towards her. "You left me to come and live with the Cullens? I never thought this could happen."

"I'm sorry…" She whispered.

"You're sorry? Is that all you can say? Do you have any idea what I've been through since you left?" I raised my voice and she recoiled a little. Now that I had found her safe and sound, I wanted her to feel guilty about leaving me. I didn't understand why she was there so I began to unleash my anger.

"I never meant this to happen."

"But it did! You said you loved me, you said you didn't have any regrets and then you vanished without a fucking word!" I was yelling now. The emotions of seeing her again were all over the place and I couldn't tell what I was feeling in that moment.

"How did you find me?" She asked.

"Yesterday, on Rachel's wedding I felt your scent on the Cullens. I thought I was imagining things but even Rosalie had it on her… And now here you are living happily side by side with the leeches you always claimed to hate."

Now I understood Edward's words. The answer was right under my nose. It was a hint.

"I didn't want to come." She confessed and she hit the wall. Now she couldn't escape.

"But you're here. You left without a letter, a note… you wrote Seth, you said you were confused but to me... you didn't even breathe a word. Why did you do that Leah?"

I stepped forward again. I could tell she wasn't comfortable with us being so close.

"I gave you time… Hell I gave you my heart and you were using me the entire time." I continued.

"That's not true. I gave you my heart too."

"That's a lie! You still love Sam!"

"I don't care about Sam!" She yelled back. Her temper getting the best of her, as expected of Leah Clearwater.

"Then why did you leave me?" I reached her bare shoulders and I forced her to look at me. I wasn't leaving without the truth.

"Because things changed and… I was scared."

"It was so hard and so painful to be away from you. Not knowing where you were… who you were with… and then Sam kept showing me that kiss when he returned from his honeymoon… I thought…"

"We didn't kiss… _I_ didn't kiss him. And that was a long time ago."

"Then prove it. Prove me you don't love Sam anymore."

Before she could actually do something I joined our lips in a passionate kiss. She answered the kiss faster than I thought she would but the next minute she pushed me away.

"Jacob, we can't…"

I couldn't take it anymore. This in-and-out sort of relationship was killing me. I had to know what she wanted.

Because now I knew what I wanted. Twenty-four hours ago I was a mess. I was just a guy living an empty existence because without Leah by my side I was nothing. Now, after meeting her again, I felt more alive than ever. I wanted her. Not just today, forever.

I took her face in my hands and kissed her again. This time it was a slow but intense kiss.

"I thought about you day and night. I left La Push and tried to find my imprint because I wanted the pain to stop… I love you too much." I whispered between kisses.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"Please, just tell me you still want me…tell me you love me." I begged.

I could feel her tensing up but I could also see that she wanted to tell me she loved me. Her eyes didn't lie. Then, out of the blue, she wrapped her arms around me and we stood there for a few seconds, in silence, relishing in the heat of one another.

Wanting more, I lowered my hands to her waist and my heart stopped again. Was I imagining things again? Because Leah's stomach used to be flat and now it was swollen.

Releasing herself from me I looked down to her belly. It was round. Not flat. I could hardly believe my eyes.

"What the… How…?" I was at a loss for words.

"I can explain." She assured me.

"Are you pregnant? How did that…? How is it possible?"

"I don't know how it was possible either… I couldn't believe it myself."

"That's why you left the reservation…" I finally understood. Now I knew her reason and now I knew why Edward had told me that a baby changes everything.

Leah was pregnant. The second heartbeat I could hear wasn't an echo it was the baby inside of her.

I looked intensively at her, searching for more answers but she was mute. How could she be pregnant if she was barren? And more importantly, who was the father?

The baby could be mine. We had slept together but it was only three times.

_One is enough. _My brain alerted me.

But if the baby was mine why did she leave? Wouldn't it be better to talk to me so we could decide what to do together?

_Unless… it's not mine. _And that was what hurt me the most. The mere thought of Leah carrying another man's child was infuriating. It could be a new boyfriend. Or that guy from Gold Beach. Or even Sam. Sam had pestered Leah every day since she arrived in La Push to stay with Sue.

"It's not mine, is it?" I managed to say. "That's why you ran away… you knew I wouldn't forgive you, that's why you didn't tell me."

I clenched my fists and my shaking began. She had lied and cheated and ripped my heart out with her bare hands. I had no idea how I was able to contain myself.

"Is it Sam's? It must be his… I can't believe I fell in love with you. I would do anything for you… I was ready to fight off an imprint bond if I had to but I guess I was just a diversion to you, right?"

She was frozen in her spot. Her eyes were watering and her breathing was heavy. I stepped forward but when I realised I could phase and hurt her I backed off.

"Jacob…" She was crying now but I couldn't stay any longer.

"Don't speak to me." I turned around and left. I didn't want to hear her confirming my suspicions.

I heard her calling after me but I ignored her calls. I phased as soon as I was outside. She followed me and I growled, warning her to stay away from me. In my current state of mind I could hurt her unwillingly.

"It's not what you're thinking." She said.

Before she could say another word I jumped over her and entered the woods. And then I ran as if my life depended on it. I ran until my legs were aching and my head was spinning. I had nowhere to go, my mind was all jumbled, my feelings were a mess. I was crying on the inside, my heart was too broken to be mended.

How could she do that to me? How could she be pregnant with another man's baby?

_You don't know that for sure. You slept with her too. You didn't use protection. Who says the kid isn't yours?_ _Maybe she doesn't know who the father is. Maybe that's why she left._

All sense of logic had abandoned me now. I wanted to disappear from the face of the earth.

I kept running for hours until I finally fell on the grass passing out from exhaustion.

xxxxxxxxxx

I woke up with Seth's enraged thoughts filling my head.

'_You got my sister pregnant you fucking asshole!'_

I didn't know what shocked me the most: the fact that he was swearing like a sailor or the fact that he had said Leah was going to have my baby.

'_When I put my hands on you Jacob Black, you're going to wish you were never born!'_

I didn't know where I was but I knew Seth was coming for me as well as Jasper, Bella, Alice and Edward. I could see them through Seth's thoughts running full speed but they were going to take a few hours to find me.

For what I could remember I had spent the last forty-eight hours running east and blacking out of exhaustion from time to time. I should be somewhere in the Northwest Territories in Canada but I couldn't pinpoint my exact location.

'_Who the fuck do you think you are? Just because you're the alpha doesn't give you the right to mess with my sister, much less get her pregnant!'_

He had said it again. He had said I had knocked up his sister. Was he serious? Could Leah's baby be mine?

'_Of course it's yours! My sister's not a whore!'_

'_Who told you it's mine?'_

'_Leah did. I can't believe you did that to my sister and you even had the nerve to doubt that it's yours.'_

'_So... It's really mine?' _I was trying to keep calm but I was failing.

'_Leah isn't a liar.'_

I phased back to human and dressed my old shorts. I wanted to scream and make the victory dance. I wanted to hug Leah and tell her I love her. I wanted to apologise and beg for forgiveness. A minute later I felt sick, nauseous, and most of all angry with myself. I sat down on the ground, my head between my knees. I should've stayed with Leah and asked her if the baby was mine instead of assuming she had been with another person. I shouldn't have felt jealous of Sam. I should've listened to her. I was an idiot.

Yes, I was an idiot, but I now was a happy one.

_You got a girl pregnant, you moron. You should be freaking out. _My mind alerted me.

_Who said I'm not? I'm freaking out but I'm also glad. If the baby's mine, Leah will stop running away from me. We'll finally be together._

"It's mine." I muttered to myself. Saying it out loud made it seem more real. "Fuck…it's mine. I'm going to have a kid."

_The mini me that I've always wanted. _I thought with pride. The kid wasn't born yet but I knew I'd be proud of him. I was even proud of myself.

Shit. I was going to be a father and Leah and I weren't even married. Reality came down on me hard and cruel this time. Was I ready to be a father? Could I raise a child? I didn't have a job, a home of my own, I didn't even know how to change a diaper.

What if Leah didn't want my help to raise that baby? What if she didn't need me at all? What if she wanted to give him up for adoption? Why didn't she tell me? How did she end up pregnant? She was supposed to be barren. What if the baby was somehow different because of the wolf gene?

There were too many questions and so little answers. I had to talk to Leah as soon as possible; I had to know how she was doing and I had to make sure she was being closely followed by Carlisle.

Time seemed to have stopped since I had phased back to human. My brain was not functioning right and I was nervous to say the least. Leah was probably thinking I wanted nothing to do with her and the baby. The thought of causing her pain almost made me phase again and go back to Dawson, but I stayed put so Seth and the others could find me. There were things I wanted to ask Edward first.

While I waited for Seth and the others to arrive I allowed myself to imagine my future with Leah and our child. I was only eighteen but I would make sure to do my best as a father and a husband. I should propose to Leah and we should get married before the baby was born. I didn't think Sue would like to know her daughter was going to have a baby out of wedlock. Besides my son or my daughter, was not going to be a bastard child. Over my dead body.

But would Leah accept to be my wife? We were way too young to get married and have a family but I was not going to bail out on her. An unplanned pregnancy could turn out to be a good thing. With a child on the way, Leah wouldn't be able to deny me anymore. We were bonded for life.

_Fuck imprinting. I have my heir at last_. I thought with pride.

Two days ago I was pretty sure that my relationship with Leah had gone down the drain, now I was thinking about spending the rest of my life with her and with a mini me running around and calling me 'daddy'.

When the baby was born, Leah and I would have our happy ending. And I would make sure my kid would not be an only child. I was zoning out. I was letting myself get carried away by this amazing feeling.

"How could you?" Seth's growled and the next thing I knew I had his fist making contact with my face. I went to the ground.

My lip was bleeding but I hardly felt the pain of his punch. I was way too ecstatic for that. "She said she's in love with you but I don't believe her. You seduced her and took advantage of her, didn't you?"

Seth took another step towards me. He was pretty angry. I had never seen him like that.

"You said Leah isn't a liar, didn't you?" I retorted. "If she told you she loves me, then it's true."

"You forced her! She would never fall in love with you after what happened with Sam!"

"You can think whatever you want Seth. I love your sister and she loves me too. I didn't force her. She wanted it as much as I did. If she got pregnant it wasn't all my fault."

It wasn't right on my part to blame Leah for being pregnant, but it wasn't my fault either. She believed she couldn't have children so it never crossed our minds to use protection.

"You're making it worse Jacob. Stop talking." Jasper appeared from my left side. "He's not kidding. He will kill you if you keep this up."

"What do you want me to say? That I'm sorry?" I opened my arms. "I'm not sorry I'm in love with her, I'm not sorry she's having my baby..."

"You fucking bastard! I'm going to kill you!"

Seth didn't attack me because Jasper was using his powers to calm him down. But for a minute there I feared for my life. He was way beyond furious.

"I'm just trying to…"

"Do you have any idea of how serious this situation is?" Seth yelled at me.

"Leah's pregnant, not deadly ill. I'm going to make sure she'll be alright after the baby is born, okay?"

"Really? And when you find your soul mate, what will happen to my sister?"

I didn't answer. I was sick and tired of talking about imprinting.

"The Council will not approve. Leah's not your imprint." He added.

"Do you think that I fucking care about the Council? About imprinting? I'm trying to be responsible Seth. I'll stand by her and the baby no matter what the Council decides."

"Child support will be enough." Seth stated crossing his arms over his chest. "My sister doesn't need someone breaking her heart again."

"I'm not going to pay for child support and I'm sure not going to stay away from Leah and my child. No one will force us to be apart. Not even you!"

It felt really good to say that. For me at least. Seth, on the other hand, didn't like it much and growled.

"Just shut up! Both of you!" Alice Cullen shouted angrily. I didn't even notice she was there. "We need to go back and it's a long way. We have two or three days ahead of us so behave! You're pack mates for heaven's sake!"

Seth glared at me one last time before following Bella, Alice and Jasper. Edward stayed behind and walked side by side with me.

"So... you're going to be a dad." He said. A few feet ahead of us Seth tensed up again. "A baby changes everything. You're aware of that, aren't you?"

"I am." I was aware that Leah was carrying my child. I was aware that things would change but I wasn't ready to analyse all of those changes right now.

"Oddly enough I think you're going to be a great dad."

I grinned. I was inclined to agree with the mind reader for once. So what if I was young? So what if we hadn't planned this baby? Nothing mattered as long as we were together.

"How is she?"

"Confused, scared, happy... Pregnant women are hard to read, you know? There are too many emotions at the same time."

"Did she..."

"No." Edward said immediately when he read my thoughts. "She never thought about an abortion. This can be her only change for being a mother."

"Then why didn't she tell me?"

"She didn't want you to feel trapped. She wanted you to have your happy ending with your soul mate and she thought she'd be in the way."

"She's so damn stubborn. Why can't she see she's the one I want? Why can't she accept we're meant to be together?"

"You know why."

_Imprinting._ I hated the word and the concept. Although Sam, Paul, Quil and Jared swore that they were happier after finding their soul mates, I had a different opinion about the magical bond.

"Was she ever going to tell me about the baby if I hadn't found her?"

"I don't know. She had everything planned. She was going to leave with the baby as soon as he was born. She only accepted to be with us because she needs Carlisle to help deliver the baby."

"Why? Is there anything wrong?"

"No. So far so good. But Leah's a wolf and there might be complications. Besides she can't see a regular doctor, can she?"

"So she was going to take the baby away... She was not going to tell me."

"She was planning to go to Seattle first, find an apartment and a job and raise that child on her own. She didn't want to be a burden. Besides she thinks you're too young to face this responsibility and doesn't want to force you to be with her just because she's pregnant. She was willing to make this sacrifice for you."

"She's an idiot. I'm not doing this out of pity or guilt. I don't want her to sacrifice anything for me. I want to be with her."

"Look, I know you want to do the right thing but you need to be sure about this. You need to decide if you want in or out."

"What do you mean?"

"It's not fair or healthy for Leah to raise this baby alone. I know you want to stay by her side and help her out and I actually think that's the right thing to do but you need to be absolutely sure." He announced. "Leah's proud and stubborn and if you leave her and the child in a few years, she will never forgive you."

"This is what I want." I assured him. "I won't leave."

"You can't change your mind later."

"I won't. I want to be with Leah and our baby no matter how hard things will be for us."

"Will you fight the imprint for them?"

"I'll fight a thousand imprint bonds if a have to. I'll do anything to be with her."

I was serious. I was going to do everything in my power to have Leah's trust. I would make her happy or I would die trying.

Around eight o'clock in the afternoon we stopped our march. Alice and Edward went to a nearby town to buy food since Seth and I were starving. The sun was long gone and Seth and Jasper were retrieving wood so we could make a fire. Not that we needed light to see or get us warm but it was somehow comforting to have a few flames nearby.

"How are you doing Jake?" Bella came to sit near me. I could tell she wasn't very comfortable knowing I was going to be a father. Maybe she thought I wasn't fit for parenthood.

"I never had so many people asking me that." I smiled. "But I'm fine, thanks Bella."

"So… eighteen and a kid on the way." She said placing her hand on my arm. She wasn't making fun of me like I knew my friends in La Push would do. On the contrary Bella looked quite concerned. "When Leah went to our house, I didn't know it was yours. She said she met someone in Gold Beach… we assumed she was telling the truth. But then Carlisle discovered the baby had the wolf gene and that meant his father was also a wolf…"

"I see… Has she been okay? I mean is anything wrong with her or the baby?" I kept asking that question because the wolf inside of me was demanding to know.

"She's fine. Carlisle's been quite helpful even though this is a new challenge for him as well. Leah's condition is unique."

"It's a new challenge for me too." I confessed.

I had always wanted children but it wasn't something I used to think about often. I wanted to live my youth to the fullest first but I wanted to have a family in the future too. It was something that it was expected from me for one day I would be chief of La Push.

"Are you okay with this?" Bella asked timidly.

"The baby?"

She nodded.

"He's mine and I love her."

"You love her?" She was surprised.

"Yes."

"When did that happen? If I remember correctly you and Leah always hated each other. She thought you were an idiot for loving me and you thought she was a harpy."

"What's your point?"

"You don't have to hide things from me Jake. I know you better than that. You don't have to stay with Leah against your will. You don't have to be with her just because she's having a baby."

"She's having _my_ baby."

"Even so… If you're not ready, don't commit yourself yet. You're so young, you should be able to live your life freely, experience new things, maybe even find your imprint…and now you're stuck with Leah and a child just because you probably drank too much and weren't careful."

"It that what you think? That we got drunk, we had sex and she ended up pregnant?"

"Wasn't it?"

"Wow Bella. You really think high of me, don't you? Do I really look like the guy who would do that?" I took her hand away from my arm.

"No, not you… but Leah… You know what people say about her." Bella hesitated for a while. "I like Leah... I mean I respect her because I know what she's been through. Harry died, she became a wolf, she lost Sam and all of her dreams are gone... I get it but I don't know if she really loves you. She might be using you to forget Sam. I'm trying to protect you here Jake. You can assume the paternity of this child but you don't need to chain yourself to her. It won't be fair on anyone."

Our conversation was suddenly over when Jasper and Seth returned with some wood for the fire. A moment later the four of us were watching the flames in silence.

"When did you start having feelings for Leah?" Seth asked while placing more wood into the fire.

Jasper pretended to be paying attention to the fire while Bella looked at me intensively.

"They were always there. I was just too blind to see."

"Right…" Obviously he didn't believe me.

"When Sam got married… I spoke to your sister at the cliffs. I remember thinking that I wanted to find a girl as beautiful and as passionate as Leah. I remember thinking that Sam was an idiot for choosing Emily."

"You should've walked away Jake. You should've left my sister alone."

"Why? Why should I walk away from the only person that can make me happy?"

No one answered my question and we all remained in silence until Edward and Alice's arrival.

xxxxxxxxxx

I promised Seth I would put things right but the truth was I didn't know how. I was planning on declaring my undying love for Leah and the child we had conceived as soon as I got back but before reaching Dawson I kind of pissed off Seth more than I should and then the shit hit the fan and we ended up having a huge fight.

Bella was trying to make me realise I didn't have to ruin my life because of a one-night stand mistake. Actually, she was the only one thinking I was too young, too naive, and too good to spend the rest of my life with Leah and a child that wasn't even planned.

As for me, I didn't care about anything that was coming out of her mouth. I didn't even care what other people could think about me or Leah. All I cared about was that the girl I was in love with was carrying my child.

In a few months, I was going to have a baby. I knew I should be worrying about getting a job, talking to the Council, asking for Sue and my dad's blessing and things like that, but I wasn't.

Sensing my frustration with his wife's constant lectures, Edward tried to shut her up but she didn't listen to him. She didn't listen to anyone, not even me.

"I'm perfectly capable of making decisions on my own, Bells. Actually you were seventeen years old when you decided that you wanted to be a leech so you could live happily ever after with Edward. You didn't even think twice about your parents or your friends." I made sure to recall her.

"It's totally different. We're talking about your future here. And a child's life is involved."

I rolled my eyes. We were close to Dawson now. A few more miles and I would be able to feel Leah's scent. I was anxious to see her but also a little scared.

"Jacob is right, honey. It's his decision." Edward tried again.

"He's... overwhelmed by the circumstances. He's not thinking straight."

"What do you want me to say Bella? That Leah seduced me, we slept together a few times and she got knocked up? Do you want me to say that I didn't enjoy having my first time with Leah? That I don't feel attracted to her? That I didn't think about her day and night after we slept together?" I exploded. "That's not happening Bella. I don't regret it."

For some reason, Bella was having a hard time believing that I had fallen in love with Leah and that I wasn't going back to Dawson out of obligation but because I wanted to.

"I just want you to do the right thing."

"And what do you suggest me to do?"

"Give your name to the boy and let Leah handle the rest. You don't even know if she wants you to assume the baby's paternity. You can help with money and you'll be able to see the boy whenever you want, but don't tie yourself down to her just because you feel guilty."

"Yeah, you do that Jake." Seth spat acidly. "Actually, I don't think he even needs to have your last name. He'll be Clearwater, that's enough."

"What the hell do you want from me Seth?" Those two were making me crazy. "Do you want me to take responsibility or not?"

"Yes... I mean no! What I want is for you to back off."

"I will back off if Leah asks me to, but if she'll have me by her side, I won't."

"You're going to hurt my sister! No one cares about her feelings. She's been through a lot. Sam left, my dad left, and you'll leave as well."

"You don't know that."

"You're our alpha. You'll imprint sooner or later and then what? What are you going to say to your child when he sees you with another woman? How are you going to tell my sister that you can no longer be with her and that you can no longer be the father of her child?"

"I'm not Samuel Uley!" I yelled at my friend.

"Jake!" Bella scolded. Of course she would side with Seth. She wanted me to stay away from Leah too.

"I know you're not Sam! You're worse!" Seth accused. And then I phased and he did the same.

'_How can I be worse than Sam? He's the one who broke her heart, not me! He's the one who dumped your sister to stay with Emily! He's the one who imprinted!'_

'_At least he's not a liar!'_ Seth growled at me menacingly.

'_A liar? When the fuck did I lie?'_

'_You don't love my sister. You used her. She was your rebound and that's all.'_

'_You're wrong! I'm in love with her for a long time, Seth.'_

'_If you love her so much why didn't you stand up for her when she most needed? Why did you attack her when she tried to stop you from killing Paul? Why did you call her a harpy?'_

I didn't have an answer to offer him.

'_Did you fall for my sister before or after you slept with her?'_ He kept going. _'Because I'm quite positive that all these feelings you have for her only started once you had her.'_

'_What happened between Leah and I was not a mistake. I realised I had feelings for her after Bella's wedding, I was just too damn blind to see. It didn't happen by chance.'_

'_So you're saying that you were planning on having a kid?'_

'_No. I'm not saying that. But it happened and I'm not sorry.'_

'_You're a shitty friend, you know that? You're a liar and a cheater and I hate you for hurting my sister.'_

Seth was out of control and out of reach by now. He had been circling me, trying to spot an opening to attack. When he didn't find any, he decided to just run forward. Many months ago, when we faced the Volturi I had feared for his life. Seth was one of the youngest wolves and he had a good heart which prevented him to fight like the other wolves.

Sure he was brave and had the wolves' self-preservation's instinct that commanded him to attack leeches like the rest of us, but Seth was a good kid and he had always preferred diplomacy over violence.

Now I didn't see the naïve, good-hearted Seth anywhere. In a few years, or maybe even months, Seth would be a better fighter than Paul, who was currently the best fighter after me and Sam.

'_I fell for Leah the right way!'_ I tried to reason with him while he attacked my left flank. _'She's smart, beautiful, stubborn as hell… she faces life openly and she never gives up. She can be cruel sometimes but she can also be really sweet and caring…'_

Accidentally, I let some of my memories with Leah travel through my mind. I was on top of her, she was moaning my name, and Seth got even more pissed off.

'_Haven't you done enough damage?' _He tried to close his sharp teeth around neck. _'Leah lost everything when she turned into a wolf. She has no friends anymore. Even in the pack, no one cares about her... When she goes back to La Push pregnant with your child, what do you think people will think? They'll call her a whore and blame her for corrupting you...'_

I could feel Jasper's power having an effect on the both of us now. Bella and Alice were also yelling at us to stop fighting and finally we calmed down enough to phase back. Edward got us some clothes they had brought in a bag pack. By the smell of it, they belonged to Emmett, who was the only vampire our size. My shirt was soaked with blood within seconds but I didn't care. We remained sitting down on the forest floor for a while, trying to catch our breaths.

"I know you don't trust me anymore Seth but... I promise I won't let anyone mistreat Leah once we go home."

Seth got up glaring at me. It was the famous 'Clearwater glare'.

"If she accepts going home _with _you." Seth pointed out leaving me behind.

I guess I would have to work on my begging skills before facing my pregnant beta.

**To be continued…**

* * *

Special thanks: teamtorettosupporter, Blackwater Crazziii, Cracker679, TheSkeptic88, Jeakat, Tara Maria, Queen Leti, Firefly-class, MelkiSihou, brankel1, Kwop, MoliWood, rocklesson86, crystal, Weave the Magic, WEML101, Scimitar X, Guest, nene82743, Kary G, hgmsnoopy.

I'd also like to thank everyone who added this story to their favourite's list.


	13. Ep 13 - Fears and prophecies

Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer not me.

Author/Note 1: This one-shot follows what happens during chapter of _Our Dawn 2_.

A/Note 2: I'm not a native English speaker so I'm sorry for my grammar and spelling. Thank you for reading.

**_Our Dawn Series Specials_**

**_Episode Thirteen – Fears and prophecies_**

**_Jacob Black_**

It was around four o'clock in the morning when I got home from patrol. Ever since Leah had almost lost our baby a week ago, I had practically moved in to the Clearwater's house. Sue wasn't particularly happy about us being together under the same roof without being married but she knew what was best for Leah and Harry. And I was the best for them now.

Leah was getting anxious because in a few weeks she'd be six months. Carlisle had told us that after the sixth month, she could give birth any time because she wasn't like other women. He had warned Leah about what to do if she started having contractions and in case that happened he told us to call him immediately.

I stood against the doorframe of Leah's bedroom for a while, watching her sleep. She kept tossing and turning in her bed. She had told me that she was having nightmares about the delivery of the baby. In one of those nightmares she gave birth to a litter.

_"Five baby russet wolves."_ She had told me, completely mortified. _"Can you believe it? Five wolves! With four legs each and pointy wet noses!"_

Before I could laugh at the nonsense, she gave me one of those glares saying: if-you-laugh-I'm-going-to-murder-you-in-your-sleep, so I just shrugged.

_"At least they were russet. They took after daddy."_ It was supposed to be a joke but Leah didn't find it funny so that time she only pushed me out of her bed and didn't speak to me for a few hours. With all of those mood changes, I was quite lucky I didn't end up castrated.

Doctor Cullen had also advised us that since Leah was about to reach the last month of the second trimester she could begin experiencing different symptoms. Leah ended up concluding she had experienced a few new symptoms without even noticing such as back aches, numbness in her hands, itchiness on her stomach and swollen feet. She also had stretch marks on her abdomen and breasts but she had never allowed me to see it. We even had an argument about that.

_"I've seen you naked before. Why can't you show me?"_ I had asked her for the third time that morning, two days ago.

_"Because if I show you, you'll freak out. When you saw me naked I didn't have a belly of the size of a watermelon and I didn't have ugly marks all over me."_

_"So what? You're still beautiful and I don't care about your size or the marks. I know pregnant women all have that."_

_"It's my body, Jacob! I'm… deformed… You are not going to see me naked until this baby is born. Got it?"_

_"It's a bit late for all this self-consciousness, don't you think? So you don't have a top model's body anymore… who cares?"_

"You sure know how to make a girl feel good, you idiot!"

_"I just wanted to see my girlfriend's beautiful stretch marks. Is that so bad?"_

_"Yes! And I'm not your girlfriend!"_

_"Since you didn't want to marry me you have to be my girlfriend, don't you? What else would you be?"_

_"I'm just the mother of your child."_

_"And what does that make me?"_

_"The bastard who knocked me up!"_

Leah closed her bedroom door on my face. That morning I left her house with a broken nose and a troubled mind.

Leah had refused to marry me and didn't want us to be girlfriend and boyfriend. I had respected her choice of not getting married right away because getting married with a six-month pregnant belly would certainly make people talk even more.

Yesterday I had gone to buy a few groceries for Leah and I happened to be near Sandy Redstone, Brenda Longfree and Tina Oliver. The trio was talking about Leah's pregnancy. It seemed that nowadays Leah and I were the only thing that people cared about in the reservation.

_"I heard she was jealous of Emily and Sam having a baby and convinced Billy's son to give her what she wanted."_ Said Sandy, one of the local gossipers. _"But Rhonda White told me the Clearwater girl bedded several kids after being dumped by Sam Uley. That's why she was always going into the forest with lots of kids in the past year or so."_

_"I bet she doesn't even know who the father is."_ Brenda added. _"I think Jacob Black is being lied to."_

_"Anna and Lydia told me they were seeing each other in the summer and broke up when Jacob went to Canada."_ Tina advanced. She was a regular costumer of Anna Fuller and Lydia Nawat, Brady and Denis' mothers, who had a small business together.

_"Anna and Lydia told you that because their boys used to walk around the Clearwater girl too. As far as we know one of them might be the father of that baby."_

_"They're so young. How will they raise a child if they're children themselves?"_

When I left the grocery store, they were wondering what kind of things we did half-naked in the forest. I bet they were thinking about orgies and such. Reality was less exciting and a lot more dangerous. Pursuing leeches to protect our people couldn't quite compare to sex.

And to think that I had been working my ass off to protect those stupid women, whose only interest now was to talk about other people's lives. Next time I would probably consider letting a leech feed on them.

Anyways, I didn't care about what they'd said yesterday because I loved Leah, I loved our unborn son and even though my reputation had taken a serious blow, I didn't regret anything and I felt that we didn't owe anyone any explanation. They could all go to hell and stay there.

The problem was that I had my doubts that Leah would accept to marry me after Harry was born. No matter how many times she said she didn't want to get married because she felt like a whale and didn't want more people to talk about us, she couldn't hide the truth. She was scared of commitment. She was afraid of wanting to commit herself into a relationship that she thought wouldn't last forever. So, eventually she would try to find another excuse after our son was born to refuse my marriage proposal.

Leah was a force of nature and no one could ever force her to do something she didn't want to. I didn't love her less for that but she was going to make my life way more difficult than I had anticipated. If she kept refusing to marry me I would have to take drastic measures such as getting her ass drunk, take her to Las Vegas to a cheap chapel and get an Elvis-priest to marry us.

I was only trying to be responsible but Leah was still scared about the imprint. She didn't mention that subject ever since we decided to come to La Push again, but I could feel it in my bones and I could see it in her eyes. She was afraid that, one day, I would leave her.

Tonight, though I had no intention of leaving. I made my way over to her and kissed her forehead. Her bed was getting smaller for the three of us, but after spending four hours in the woods, away from her and our child, I couldn't care even if I had to sleep on the floor next to the bed.

I removed the book Leah had started reading a few days ago from the bed and read the passage she had marked with a red pen: _Becoming a parent is one of life's biggest joys and responsibilities. Doing all you can do to prepare now, before your baby is born, will make the transition to parenthood much easier._

Thinking about responsibilities made me shiver. Since last week Sue Clearwater was on my case practically twenty-four hours a day. She wanted me to find a job because in her opinion _"children aren't raised by love. They need food, clothes and education and all of that requires money."_

Money I clearly didn't have. The Cullens had provided Leah with many things for the baby: clothes, a crib, diapers, and a lot of other items I didn't even know what they were meant to do. But Harry would not be a baby forever. He would grow up and I would have to provide for him and Leah.

Quil had found a part-time job at a farm near the reservation. The farm belonged to a wealthy family who needed someone to take care of their stables. As for Embry, he was working part-time too in the gas station.

I could've applied for a part-time as well but recently I had realized I couldn't stay away from Leah for more than three hours without my inner wolf freaking out. Carlisle said it was normal for in common packs, when a female was pregnant, her partner protects her and the unborn puppies during almost twenty-four hours a day.

That meant that before the baby was born I couldn't keep a job even if I wanted. Sue didn't buy that though and kept lecturing me every time she could.

I sat down on the edge of the bed carefully so I wouldn't wake Leah up and I read a few more passages from the book Emily had brought: _Fathers are just as important to children as mothers. In fact, children who have a father who is involved in their lives do better in school and get less in trouble. You should play a major part in your children's lives. Being a dad doesn't take a special degree in child development. It also doesn't take lots of money. It takes open communication and love._

They sure made it seem quite easy. Reality wasn't like that though. Even if I didn't have Seth and the others throwing daggers at me for getting Leah pregnant anymore, I was still judged by many people. People who had once praised me, now thought I was just a brainless kid who had been fooled by vicious Leah Clearwater.

Just like I had predicted, Seth forgave me the instant his sister told him we were sort of together. He had made me promise never to think about the times Leah and I had slept together while phased and he welcomed me in his family with open arms.

Seth was a great friend, as were Quil and Embry, but right now they were poor allies to my cause. None of them had money or wisdom enough to help raising my kid. Once Harry was born I'd have to find a job, close to home, and my life would never be the same again. As much as I hated to admit, Sue was right.

My eyes stumbled upon another passage of the book that said:_ Your role as a father can begin now by supporting the baby's mother during the pregnancy. Being involved in the pregnancy will also help you to adjust to the idea of parenthood. _If only Leah let me prove I would always be there for her.

In that moment she stirred a little and I watched her turning again in her sleep. I wondered if she was having another nightmare about giving birth to a litter. My girl had quite a fertile imagination. Carlisle had done several ultrasounds and all of them showed us a normal human baby. We still didn't know how the wolf gene would affect Harry and there was still a problem with the stupid machine that was constantly emitting a damn echo, but Harry was definitely human.

"Jacob?" She opened her eyes slowly.

"Yeah, I'm here." I closed the book and put it on the bedside table.

"How was patrol?"

"Quiet."

"Are you sure you don't want to let Sam take care of patrols for now?"

After our fight, Sam and I made an agreement. We decided to forget about our differences and focus on our jobs as alphas. Even though I'd like to spend more time with Leah, I wasn't going to let Sam take over my job, so we had arranged patrol shifts for both packs and we were working together to protect La Push. Because Leah was pregnant and my place was by her side, we had agreed that my shifts would only last four hours while everyone else's lasted six hours.

"He said I could reduce my patrol shifts down to two hours when you're seven months. For now I'll do my job as my position requires."

"How honorable of you." She mocked. "Are you afraid Sam's better than you?"

"No. There's no chance he's better than me."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I got you in the end, didn't I?" I smirked confidently. Leah blushed slightly.

"Do you want to stay tonight?" She asked.

Leah had asked me that every night for the past week and even though I shouldn't accept, I always stayed. I was supposed to stay with her during the day, not overnight. But I was past beyond carrying. There were a lot of rumours about us living together, and Leah was already pregnant, so why should we care?

"So…that means you're not mad at me anymore, right?"

"A little but Harry wants you here."

Leah placed my hand on the top of her belly. Harry was kicking hard, it almost felt like there were two or three babies inside Leah, but a few seconds later he calmed down.

"See?" She smiled. "He's always anxious when you're not here."

"If the baby wants me around, why don't you?" I knew I shouldn't bring that subject again, especially when she was still pregnant but the words left my mouth before I could stop them.

"You know I want you here. I asked you to stay, didn't I?"

"You asked me to stay for the night." I pointed out. "What about when Harry is born? What about when he is two years old? Will I need an invitation to come and spend the night with you? What are you going to say to him when he asks why his parents didn't get married?"

Leah sat down on the bed and faced me with a hard expression.

"Don't do this now Jacob."

"Why not? If not now, when are we going to speak about this?"

"I don't know."

"People know we're together."

"Oh I know very well what people think about us."

"You're still mad at me…" I deduced.

Somehow Leah learned that I had been present when Sandy Redstone, Brenda Longfree and Tina Oliver were talking about us and that I had done nothing to preserve my honour and her virtue. Or maybe it was the other way around since I had been the one to lose my innocence with her. Anyway, she accused me of just stand by and let other people humiliate us. In my defence, I told her I didn't have to justify myself or give explanations about our lives to anyone, much less three annoying middle-aged women.

On the account of those three gossipers I had slept on the Clearwater's couch last night.

"Let's get them a reason to stop talking." I tried. "We don't need a wedding like Bella's or Rachel's... We can just go to Forks and sign the papers."

"I can't."

"Because of the imprinting thing?"

"It's not just that."

"You don't love me enough…" I accused.

"I'm scared Jacob."

"Of what?"

"Everything."

"I can't help if you don't talk to me."

"I'm having these dreams…"

"I know, about a litter, about puppies and…"

"No." She cut me off. "About us."

"Us?"

"Most of the times I dream about you imprinting on a beautiful girl with copper skin and caramel curly hair. I dream that I'm holding Harry in my arms and you don't even notice us because she's there too and she's all you can see." A lonely tear went down Leah's cheek. "But that was months ago… Now all I dream about is Harry being alone…"

"Harry won't be alone. We'll be here for him."

"What if something happens to me and then you imprint? What will be of him?"

"I'm not… following…"

"Carlisle said there can be problems during the delivery. I'm not an ordinary woman and Harry isn't just a baby. He's the son of two wolves… we might die Jacob… I mean think about it."

"You're overreacting."

"I'm not! You are supposed to have an imprint and be happy with her. Have children and grow old together. But somehow I ended up pregnant with your child. I'm sure fate will find a way to take me out of your life for good. What if fate decides to punish me and the baby?"

"This is you freaking out about having the baby, Leah." I told her. "It's perfectly normal. Plus you've been reading all kinds of shit about labour and you're getting scared. Nothing will happen to you or Harry."

"You don't know that!"

"When you read books like this, it's only normal you might think something can go wrong. Let's see…"

I opened the book again and read a passage.

_'All women worry about how they will cope with the pain of labour and delivery. There's no way you can predict how you'll feel since childbirth is different for everyone. The amount of pain depends on the size and position of the baby, the size of your pelvis, your emotions and the strength of your contractions. Labour pain has a purpose. Pushing your baby down and out of the birth canal is the only way to deliver a child.'_

Leah was trembling when I finished.

"It's freaking scary even for me and I'm not the one having the baby." I tried to cheer her up.

"What if I can't deliver the baby properly?" She asked crying.

"If there's a woman who can deliver a baby it's you. You fight vampires, for crying out loud."

"What if he dies because of me?"

"Leah…"

She took the book out of my hands.

"Listen to this Jacob: _'During pregnancy, your baby is protected from many illnesses but some infections can be harmful to your pregnancy, your baby, or both. You can take a normal life when you're pregnant but you need to consider that whatever you experience, it will affect your baby too._'"

"You don't have any infections. Carlisle would've seen it."

"What about stillbirth?_ 'After twenty weeks, losing a pregnancy is called stillbirth. Some reasons stillbirth occur include problems with the placenta, genetic problems in the fetus, poor fetal growth, and infections. Almost half of the time, the reason for stillbirth is not known. Though hard, surviving a pregnancy loss is possible…'_" She read some more.

"Stop!" I ordered. "That is nonsense. I know why you're scared but you need to get a grip and overcome this fear. As soon as Harry is born you'll see you were worrying without a reason."

"What if I'm not a good mother? I mean you're probably going to be a great dad, but some women don't have that maternal instinct and…"

"You're going to be a great mother."

I hugged her tightly and held her while she cried. When she finally put herself together, we lay down on the bed and remained in silence. She blacked out only a few seconds later. She was psychologically and physically drained and I had no idea what to do to help her.

xxxxxxxxxx

I adjusted Leah's seatbelt while she kept complaining about the fact that I wasn't telling her where we were going. If I'd tell her she would probably refuse to go and couldn't let that happen. My mental health depended on this trip and the success of it.

We were going to the Makah Reservation to visit Odessa Clearview. My dad had told me about her a week ago. After telling me about her dreams and fears, I tried to help Leah the best way I could. I got Sue, Seth, Rachel, Embry, Quil and even Charlie to keep her company and make sure she wouldn't be depressive. But despite our efforts, she was still consumed with fear.

I kept saying I was okay but the truth was that I was almost reaching my limit as well. I patrolled four hours every night, the rest of the time I had to be with Leah or attend meetings with the Council and help my father when Rachel couldn't.

My inner wolf felt more relaxed when I was with Leah because I could protect her and make sure she was okay along with our baby, but the human part of me was not doing so well. Her dreams had turned into nightmares, she was either too happy or too sad, sometimes she would tell me everything she was feeling, other times she just bottled it up inside only to explode later, accusing me of being overprotective. She was crying a lot more too. The only time I wasn't worrying about her, was during the few hours I could get some sleep when either Seth or Sue were covering for me. I knew I couldn't keep this up for three more months.

My father realised I wasn't coping and asked me what was going on. I told him the truth that same night.

_"A week ago Leah told me she's scared. Since then she's getting worse."_ I told him.

_"Scared? Of what?"_

_"Everything. The delivery, being a mother, me imprinting, having a litter instead of a normal human baby, marrying me, turning into a wolf during labour… She's out of control, dad."_

_"What did you do?"_

_"Nothing… I mean I told her she's being paranoid. I told her it's going to be fine, but she doesn't believe me."_

_"I see… Your mother was the same when she was pregnant with your sisters."_ My father announced spiking my curiosity.

_"And what did you do?"_

_"The same you did."_

_"Did it work? Did she get better? Because it has been a week and I don't know if I can keep this up."_

_"Sometimes it helped, sometimes it didn't."_

_"What was wrong with her?"_

_"She read somewhere that having twins increased the chances of complications during birth. She got so scared that she refused going to the doctor for a whole month because she thought there was something wrong with the babies."_

_"Leah's the same. She doesn't want to go see Carlisle anymore."_

_"When I finally convinced her to go to the doctor, he told her everything was fine but she kept thinking that something was wrong and that's when I realised she needed help."_

_"You took her to the psychiatrist?"_ I asked surprised.

_"No. I took her to Odessa Clearview."_

_"Who?"_

_"She lived in the Makah Reservation. By then she was a forty-something woman famous for assisting childbirths since she was around eight years old. She was no doctor or nurse but knew more about pregnancies and newborns than anyone else I know. She already had seven kids by then."_

_"Why did you seek this woman's help?"_

_"She was also known to have a special ability. She could cast protective charms for newborns and their mothers. I don't know if her ability was true or not, all I know is that it worked for Sarah."_

_"You think this woman is still alive?"_

_"If she is, she's probably seventy years old now… but you can try."_

_"I guess it's worth the shot."_

I was desperate. I wanted Leah to have a normal pregnancy. All women I knew said that to be pregnant was something special and beautiful and I wanted Leah to be able to say the same. So I took her to the Makah Reservation.

"Jacob I swear to the holy spirits that if you're taking me to see Carlisle Cullen I will kill you and leave your body in the woods for the animals to eat!" She threatened as soon as I turned on the engine.

"We're not seeing Carlisle. Relax."

"Then where are we going?"

"To see someone."

"I'm not going to get married."

Of course she would assume that.

"Even though I don't understand why you're so scared of marrying me, I promise that I'm not taking you to a church or a registry office."

She eyed me suspiciously.

"I shouldn't be making long trips in this condition."

"We'll be home before you notice."

When Leah was a child she used to visit the Makah Reservation often. She had family living there such as Emily's parents. As soon as she recognised the road, she guessed where we were going.

"Why are we here?" She asked when I parked the car outside the community centre.

I left the car for a few minutes to ask if Odessa Clearview was still alive and where she lived. It looked like the elderly woman still lived and had a small house near the three wells. We were received by one of her daughters. Probably the youngest one. Her named was Maribel and she was about twenty-six years old.

"Who is this woman?" Leah asked refusing to go inside the old house.

"You'll see. Now be nice and come inside." I instructed.

"Mum, you have a visit." Maribel said. The old woman turned around and smiled. Her hair was all white and she wore it tied up in a long braid. She dressed all in black, a clear indication that she had lost someone recently.

"I believe I need to burn some candles. Can you get them for me boy?" She pointed up to a closet on the wall. "It's on the top shelve."

I reached it easily and handed the candles over to Maribel who began to put them one by one on their respective places.

"Will you tell me your names or do I have to guess?"

"I'm Jacob and this is Leah."

"Black and Clearwater, huh?" She smiled.

Leah and I exchanged a look. She knew our families.

"Maribel, get a chair for Leah." Odessa started to light the candles that her daughter had previously prepared and then sat down on a red chair in the centre of the living room. "Tell your sister to prepare the golden tea and bring me my suitcase." Odessa ordered her daughter and she left immediately. "You have questions for me." Her piercing black eyes seemed to be smiling at us.

"Yes." I answered truthfully. "It's more like a request."

"I see… When your mother was pregnant with you, she came to me as well."

"I thought she came when she was pregnant with my sisters."

"And she did. And then she came a second time, on her own, when she was carrying you inside her."

"Why would Sarah come here?" Leah asked.

"So I could protect her children." Odessa replied. "Well, when she was pregnant with your twin sisters, the babies didn't need protection. She was just too scared and anxious because she was pregnant for the first time. The next pregnancies are always easier."

Leah laughed.

"I'm pretty sure this is it for me." She said.

"Don't assume things you don't know child."

Leah glared at the woman.

"Are you saying I'm going to have more kids?"

"I don't know that. I can't see the future but you're pregnant now and you have a man, don't you?" She winked. "I would say you have all it takes to have more children."

"I was supposed to be barren." Leah declared and I fought the urge to kick her on the leg. We couldn't afford Odessa to suspect we weren't ordinary humans.

"Barren? Why would you be barren?"

Leah looked at me searching for an escape. What was she expecting me to say?

"The doctor told her that it would be impossible for Leah to have children." I offered. Leah sighed in relief.

"I guess he's not a very good doctor, is he?" Odessa smiled and Leah made an annoyed face letting me know she wasn't enjoying that woman's company.

"Actually, he is a good doctor." Leah whispered.

"What if I told you that you are the woman who is supposed to bear Jacob's sons and daughters?"

We remained in silence. Of course I would like to have more children with Leah but we didn't even know if that would be possible due to her condition.

"Do you know who Martha Young was?" Odessa questioned us.

"My great-grandmother?" I tried.

"Yes, she married Ephraim Black but she was also the daughter of Neeve Clearview, a distant relative of mine. Neeve was said to be a prophet and her daughter had the gift too. It was said she could read the future in the stars."

Leah rolled her eyes, not buying Odessa's tale even though in our reservation there were some people who were believed to do the same. Old and traditional communities such as ours believed in the old spirits and legends. Being a shape shifter kind of made me believe those things too, however Leah was a bit more sceptical about this woman.

"That's how she knew she was going to leave the Makah Reservation even before she met Ephraim Black. She knew she had to leave home to fulfil her destiny. Everyone heard her say that without her La Push would cease to exist and that one day, the future of your people would be in the hands of her great-grandchild's twin sons."

"Martha Young had more great-grandchildren other than Jacob." Leah pointed out.

"Jacob is the oldest."

"Rachel and Rebecca are older than Jacob." Rachel pointed out.

"Rachel and Rebecca Black are women. The female line doesn't ensure the Black's family genes. It's the male line that counts."

"Even if Martha Young's prophecy is right, I'm not pregnant with twins so Jacob will probably have more children but not with me."

Odessa laughed.

"You can have more children."

"No, I can't!" Leah got up and placed her hands on her waist. Odessa wasn't intimidated though.

"How can you be so sure?"

"He will leave me and Harry and find another woman…"

Fortunately Leah hadn't mentioned the word 'imprint'.

"The weaknesses of the flesh torment men more often than women but do you have any proof that this boy is cheating on you? Can you be sure that he'll leave you and your child for another woman?"

Leah sat down again and glued her eyes to the wooden floor.

"No… but I'm sure I'm not the right person for him. I'm not… his soul mate."

"Why not?"

"I'm older than him… and I feel like I'm forcing him to be with me just because I got pregnant."

"I was seven years older than my husband." Odessa confessed. "Are you with Leah because you feel guilty or because you want to?" She turned to me.

"Because I love her."

In that moment Maribel walked inside with a black suitcase in her hands, followed by another woman carrying a cup of tea.

"Drink that. It will help you." The woman said. "My name is Meela. May I?"

Leah took the cup and nodded, allowing Meela to put a hand on her belly. Since Meela didn't pose a threat to me, I remained calm.

"You are very lucky." She said. "But I guess that asking protection from the old Spirits won't hurt."

"Protection?" Leah asked.

"That's why you came, wasn't it?" Meela started to search something inside the black suitcase.

"I protected Jacob the same way. It's good for his kin to be protected too." Odessa stated.

"Why did you have to protect me?"

"Let's just say that some people in La Push weren't happy about Billy Black having a son."

"My mother has been assisting every pregnant woman in our reservation ever since she was eight years old. She never lost anyone. Mother and children, they all survived."

Leah looked at me with a hopeful expression. She might not believe Odessa about Martha Young's prophecies, hell I didn't believe it myself, but she did want to have a safe labour and if what Meela had said was true, it was worth the try.

"So you can protect us during labour?" She inquired.

"Yes." Odessa assured. "And against many other things."

That was enough for Leah to give it a try. She drunk the tea Meela had given her and lay down on the couch that was previously prepared for her. Odessa and her daughter seemed to know what they were doing but I was starting to feel a bit uneasy. What if they started pouring chicken's blood on Leah? What if this turned out to be like the old rituals?

"What are you going to do to her?" I asked when Leah was already asleep.

"I'm going to ask the Spirits to protect Leah and her children." Odessa explained, taking an old book from inside the suitcase. "These are all the charms I have to recite. It will take a while but Leah will feel a lot better when she leaves."

"So… no blood or dead animals?" I asked.

Meela laughed.

"Only words in our old tongue." She said.

"There was a time I didn't need the books. I knew the words by heart but my memory isn't the same anymore."

"We have a spare room, if you want to crash for a while. You look really tired." Meela offered.

"No, it's okay. I'll stay with her."

"Actually, men usually don't stay while my mother recites the old verses. It's not proper."

"Let him stay, Meela. He won't go. His spirit needs to be sure his mate is safe."

When Odessa said that I wondered how much she actually knew about us. I had asked my father and he had assured me that no one in the Makah Reservation knew about our ability to morph into giant wolves. But somehow Odessa seemed to know more about us than she was supposed to.

I spent the next hour and a half listening to Odessa Clearview reciting words in a different language. She paused once in a while to drink some tea and then resumed the reading with Meela's assistance.

When we left the Makah Reservation, Leah was still half asleep and the sun was going down. She opened her eyes when I stopped the car in front of her house. Seth was on patrol so there was no one there.

"How do you feel?" I asked her.

"Amazingly calm." She replied. "I feel like a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders. It's hard to describe."

Could it be the tea? Or maybe the protection charms Odessa had read while Leah was asleep? Whatever it was, I was glad that it had worked. Leah seemed more relaxed.

"Do you think she really has magical powers?" She asked me.

"Why not? Edward can read minds, Alice can see the future… why can't Odessa Clearview have magical powers to protect unborn children and their mothers?"

"I guess you're right."

"Look, Leah… Even if we don't get married, I'll still be with you. I'll take care of you and our baby. I know I'm young and I don't have much but I won't be the guy who misses his child growing up."

"I know Jacob. The only reason why I don't want to get married it's because if we do, you'll be my husband… you'll be mine to lose."

I arched my eyebrows at her.

"You can't lose someone you never had. I can't lose you if you're not mine." She clarified.

"I see… In that case, I won't bring the subject up again until you feel comfortable to talk about it."

"Thanks." She was about to kiss my cheek but I moved my head and our lips touched. "What did the old woman say when we left?" She asked pulling back.

"You know… the usual… She said everything was going to be just fine and then she asked me fifty dollars."

She laughed.

"Now let's get you home." I pulled her softly out of the car.

I wondered what kind of herbs had Odessa used in that tea or what kind of charms she had invoked, but whatever it was allowed Leah to have a good night rest. I was much more relieved as well but I couldn't sleep after what Odessa had told me before leaving.

_"Believe it or not, Martha's prophecies were never wrong. Your children will carry La Push's fate in their hands one day."_

_"Martha was speaking about twins."_

_"And twins Leah will have."_

**To be continued…**

* * *

Special thanks: teamtorettosupporter, Blackwater Crazziii, Cracker679, TheSkeptic88, Jeakat, Tara Maria, Queen Leti, Firefly-class, MelkiSihou, brankel1, Kwop, MoliWood, rocklesson86, crystal, Weave the Magic, WEML101, Scimitar X, Guest, nene82743, Kary G, hgmsnoopy.

I'd also like to thank everyone who added this story to their favourite's list.

Next... the delivery... ouch.


	14. Ep 14 - Double Trouble

Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer not me.

Author/Note 1: This one-shot follows what happens during chapters 39, 40 and 41 of _Our Dawn 2_.

A/Note 2: I'm not a native English speaker so I'm sorry for my grammar and spelling. Thank you for reading.

**_Our Dawn Series Specials_**

**_Episode Fourteen – Double Trouble_**

**_Jacob Black_**

"Are you absolutely sure?" I asked Carlisle. The vampire doctor looked at me suspiciously due to my insistence.

"I'm sure." He said calmly. "Is there anything you want to tell me?" Carlisle couldn't read minds but he had probably picked up some sort of sixth sense that told him when people were lying.

"No."

"You want me to believe that you requested me to analyse Leah's last week ultrasound three times to see if there was something unusual with the baby for no reason at all?"

"I'm just worried, that's all." I lied. Fortunately Edward was driving his silver Volvo while I was travelling along with Carlisle and Esme, so I could lie all I wanted without the fear of being caught.

"Worried about what exactly?"

"Leah's been having... dreams..."

"You have to be more specific."

"She's having dreams about giving birth to a litter and… I thought it was best to be sure."

"I'm pretty sure she's not expecting a litter." Carlisle laughed.

"Not even twins?"

"No. I counted two legs, two arms, one head… It's one little boy… Just one."

I sighed in relief. If Leah had twins or triplets I wouldn't mind. It would be harder for us to cope in the future but I wouldn't mind at all. However, I was still a bit worried about what Odessa Clearview had told us about my great-grandmother's prophecy. I knew better than to ignore old legends and prophecies.

I could still remember the day I had first phased. One moment I was an ordinary teenager and the other I was a giant wolf chasing and killing vampires. First Sam, then the tribal Council, told me about the legends of the Cold Ones and tried to explain what the pack was supposed to do, but their explanations didn't seem to make sense at all. For me the only thing that mattered was that I had been unwillingly put through something I couldn't even comprehend.

All of my dreams of a future outside the Reservation were gone. I felt like a puppet in the hands of some cruel god.

I knew for sure that any child Leah and I conceived would have the wolf gene. How would they not? Being the children of two wolves? But that didn't mean I was happy with it. Actually I would rather spare Harry of a fate like mine. I wanted him to be safe and have the normal and quiet life that Leah and I never had. I didn't want Harry to deal with vampires and carry the responsibility and the fate of our tribe on his shoulders. Fortunately Martha Young's prophecy didn't seem to apply to Harry, because it spoke of twins.

"So... Can you tell me more about this trip to Alaska?" I asked Doctor Cullen and his wife.

"It's about Irina." Carlisle said. I knew that already. Bella had called me last night and asked me to come to Dawson as soon as possible. She never said the reason for the urgency and I assumed it was about Leah's pregnancy so I left La Push at dawn and reached their mansion a few hours later. But it was about the Denali instead.

"What about her?"

"She went home last week." Carlisle announced.

"And we're heading over for a visit?" I was surprised to say the least. We were talking about a crazy vampire who had tried to kill me and after failing had brought an army of Italian bloodsuckers to La Push to eradicate our kind. "You think she's going to pat me on the back and hug me?"

Carlisle looked at me but didn't say a word.

"Yes, I was being ironic." I conceded. "Irina almost killed me! She is responsible for Bella's transformation! She attacked Seth and Leah! She told the Volturi about our agreement! Why the fuck are we going to her place?"

"Tanya called us. She's worried about her sister." Esme confessed.

"I'm worried about the violence in Africa and you don't see me rushing there, do you?"

"She won't harm you. Edward, Jasper and Bella won't allow it."

"I'm not afraid of Irina. I just can't understand why you are taking me there."

"She's been mentioning the wolves of La Push since she arrived, but Tanya promised she doesn't want revenge anymore."

What could that obsessive blonde bitch want from us? Forgiveness? Was she delusional?

"Bella should've told me why we were coming." I said.

"Would you have come?" Esme asked.

"No." She had a point.

"Exactly."

Bella had turned into a cunning vampire. It was quite infuriating. Because of her, I had left my pregnant girlfriend home alone. It would take me more than two hours to get back, which meant that today I was going to spend about five or six hours without her and our baby. My wolf wasn't pleased.

"Stop the damn car. I want to go back." I ordered.

"We're here." Carlisle announced and indeed the car stopped. Behind us, Emmett's greenish jeep stopped too and then Alice's yellow Porsche. Bella and her husband were already waiting for the rest of us to join them.

"We have to keep going on foot." Edward said.

"Where the hell are we?" I hadn't been paying much attention to where we were going all I knew was that we were in Alaska.

"A tourist trailer park." Alice answered.

"And where are the trailers?" I questioned.

"Behind those trees." She pointed north. "We leave the cars here."

"Why didn't you tell me the truth?" I asked, following Bella into the woods.

"Because you wouldn't have come."

"Of course I wouldn't." I said. "Even if she doesn't want me dead anymore, what makes you think I want to help her?"

"She… she's important to them." Bella was talking about the Cullens. I knew they were old friends with the Denali's coven. "Besides it would be good to have a good relationship with the Denalis. They're vegetarian like us and..."

"We don't want to be friends with them. I agreed not to torn them apart unless provoked and they accepted not to step on our lands… It's a simple agreement that pleases both sides. Why should we become friends with one more coven?"

"Because they're our friends too?" Bella tried.

I pulled her by the arm so we could talk more privately.

"I'm friends with the Cullens because of you." I said. "Before you joined this family of freaks I wanted nothing to do with them. They were our enemies and we respected an agreement celebrated by my great-grandfather and Doctor Cullen. That was all."

"I know that Jake. But things have changed. You changed… I changed…"

I knew she was right but I didn't want to admit it.

"You don't have a good relationship with Rose, we all know that, but don't see us as your enemies. Edward told me. You all enjoy our company. We're friends either you want to admit it or not."

"That doesn't give you the right to lie to me and bring me here!"

"Come on Jake. It's no big deal. You'll be safe. We just need to know what's wrong with Irina."

"I was supposed to be with Leah."

"You've been with Leah ever since you got back to La Push. You practically live together. Is it so hard to spend a day without her?"

"Yes."

Bella rolled her eyes.

"You used to call Edward a stalker and now look at you."

"It happens that Leah is expecting my first born son."

"You and Leah are two different people. You can still think for yourself, can't you? Or Leah does that for you now?"

"You're acting like a child."

"I miss my old friend. I miss the old Jake."

Without noticing we had kept walking and we had finally reached a stony path that led to a house, partially hidden by an old barn.

"Something's not right." Edward said suddenly. I had expected him to interrupt our conversation but Edward didn't seem interested. He looked worried though. And so did Alice.

"There's no one home." The pixie said.

"Great. In that case let's go home."

"They said they'd be here." Jasper looked at his wife.

"Maybe they went shopping." I suggested. "Or hunting… or both."

"Rosalie, Emmett go west, see if you can find their tracks." Edward asked. When Blondie and her husband were about to leave, we all saw the Denali clan coming out of the forest. First the brunette woman and her mate, then the blonde vampire women with Garrett, the asshole, closely behind. I was expecting to see Irina any minute but she never came.

As they joined us, I took a step back, not just because of the smell but for precaution. However the Denalis didn't seem to bother that I was there.

"She's gone. We can't find her anywhere." Tanya said with a worried expression. "I fear the worse for my sister, Carlisle."

"What do you mean?" Carlisle asked.

"She's been here for a week. At first things were fine. She came home and told us she was sorry for what she had done. She said she regretted having involved the Volturi and that she never meant to bring your family any trouble."

"Yesterday you told us she was acting weird." Alice recalled.

"A couple of days ago she changed. It was as if she was closing herself to us. She was always in silence, she refused to hunt and locked herself in her room. We thought she was angry at Kate because she invited Garrett to live with us." Tanya explained.

"But then she started mumbling things about the Volturi and the wolves..." Kate said.

"You think she came to say goodbye." Edward stated, reading their thoughts. "You think she's going to kill herself."

I didn't know very well what I should feel about Irina. She had tried to kill me and my pack, but at the same time she had regretted her decision and had left us alone. Her family wasn't all so bad, except for Garrett who had tried to seduce Leah once. But if Irina wanted to die, I guess I didn't see any harm in that. She had lived long enough.

"Will you help us?" Kate asked the Cullens.

"I believe I know why Irina is doing this." Edward told them. "I felt the same once and I went to Italy to put an end on my misery."

"You think she's off to Volterra?" Bella asked. I noticed that the perspective of going there wasn't that appealing to her.

"Yes, I think she..." Edward never ended his sentence because the next thing we knew, Alice was making noises as if she was somehow suffocating. She clenched at her chest and then she opened her yellow eyes, glancing over at her brother and the Denalis. It was clear that Alice had a vision.

"She was going to Volterra just like Edward thought but then..." She hesitated.

"Then?" Tanya urged Alice on.

"Then she thought about how Laurent died... and she wants to die the same way."

Sam had killed Laurent. I had found the leech when he was about to kill Bella, he tried to run away and we chased him. He was unable to win against all five of us. Sam gave ghim the final blow, ripping his head off and then we burned his body.

"She's going to La Push." Alice finally said.

"Shit." I turned around but Bella caught my hand.

"Wait. We need a plan."

"She's going there to be killed, not to kill anyone." Bella recalled.

"What if she changes her mind?"

"How many wolves are patrolling?" Edward asked.

"Sam's pack is in charge today." I said. "I think Collin and Paul are the ones patrolling."

"Can you warn them?" Alice asked.

"I'm not their alpha anymore. I only have a connection with Sam because he's an alpha too."

"Please... don't kill our sister." Kate pleaded.

"If she poses a threat to my pack brothers, she will be killed." I assured.

"What if we can find her before that?" Tanya asked.

"If you find her and bring her home, we won't hurt her." I promised.

"You can't come with us." Edward said to the Denalis. "It's too dangerous. We can count on Jacob's help, but the other pack it's a whole different story."

"Leave this to us." Carlisle said. "We'll try to sort things out."

I phased when the Cullens left. They all shared a friendly hug with the Denalis before heading over to their cars. The women drove the vehicles back while the men decided to go with me. As I predicted I couldn't get in touch with anyone from Sam's pack.

As we went south, my fears increased and my mind was filled with horrible images of my friends being attacked just like I had once been.

"She's not going to hurt anyone. It's more likely that she's the one ending up hurt... or dead." Edward commented.

I knew that but there was still a strange feeling on the pit of my stomach.

"Relax wolf boy, we'll save the day." Emmett laughed behind me.

And then I felt it all at once. Pain, fear, a killing rage. I could see Irina standing there as if she was right in front of me though I knew I was seeing her through the eyes of another wolf. Her pale face and yellow eyes were glimmering under a weak sun that was coming through the branches of the lowest trees. She was empty of emotions unlike the wolf that was facing her.

I was still trying to understand which of my friends was facing the suicidal vampire woman when she launched herself against him. It was a poor attack because she landed backwards, her body hitting the ground with such violence I even heard the crack when her head hit the grass. Then she said something in a whisper and her head was pulled out of her body.

With Irina dead, the Denalis would want revenge and the never-ending circle of battles for lost mates and family members, would lead us to more bloody fights. Maybe Carlisle would be able to convince them we only did Irina a favour. She had come to us to die and we respected her wishes.

"Phase back Jacob!" Edward ordered. He knew what had happened to Irina since he could read my mind. "Phase back now!"

The four vampires had forced me to stop running and they were surrounding me. Jasper took a pair of green shorts from a bag he was carrying.

'_We're almost there. We can talk about it when we reach the reservation.'_ I thought.

"Phase back!" He insisted.

I growled but I ended up phasing back although things were quite messy in La Push. Sam had just phased and was ordering Jared and Brady to light a fire and burn Irina's body. The last thing I felt when I phased back was three minds joining mine and a rush of pain coming from a wounded wolf.

"I think there's something wrong…" I said putting on the shorts Jasper handed me. "Someone's hurt."

"Listen to me." Edward came forward. "When we reach La Push you need to be focused."

"I am focused."

"You can't let your emotions take over."

"What the fuck are you talking about? Irina is already dead. If the Denalis come here for war, they'll have one. It's not up to me."

"This is not about the Denalis. Carlisle, you need to go to the Clearwater's house now."

After a brief exchange of looks with his adopted son, the doctor left immediately.

"What's wrong? Why did you send him to…" I hesitated. "What happened?"

"You know what happened…" Edward said. "You felt it…"

"A wolf is wounded but I didn't recognise who." I kicked a small stone away. "I should've been paying attention."

"Jasper…" Edward glanced over his brother and I felt myself calm down a bit.

"It was Seth, wasn't it? That's why you told Carlisle to go to his house." If Seth was hurt, Leah would freak out.

"It wasn't Seth." Edward assured me.

"Was it Embry?" I asked feeling confused. I was almost sure it wasn't Embry or Quil. The mind I had shared while I was phased was more familiar to me than Embry and Quil's. There was only one more wolf on my pack beside Seth, who apparently was fine. But she was at home, right?

"You know who it was." Edward whispered.

"Leah."

I don't know what kept me from phasing and running home to Leah. Probably Jasper. I felt the tremors and a piercing headache but I remained glued to the forest floor. Emmett and Jasper were also surprised.

"Are you sure?" Emmett asked his brother.

"Jacob was too focused on the battle. He was thinking about a way to spare Irina and avoid a confrontation with Tanya and her coven, so he didn't realise Leah was the one facing Irina." The mind reader explained.

"Is the shewolf okay?" Emmett inquired. There was a slight preoccupation patent in his voice.

"I believe Seth took her home. We'll know more as soon as we get there."

"Did Irina hurt her?" Jasper questioned.

"No. Leah ripped her head off, like Irina wanted her to do."

"That's a good thing, right?" I was able to catch my voice again.

"Yes. It's a good thing that Irina didn't hurt Leah but…"

"But what?" I practically yelled.

"You felt it too. You felt the pain… She wasn't supposed to phase until after the baby was born."

I couldn't believe I hadn't realised it sooner. I couldn't believe I had left Leah unprotected for so long. I couldn't believe I was going to lose her and Harry like that. I had never felt so damn useless in my whole life.

"It wasn't your fault."

"When Bella called me, I should've said no. Now Leah and Harry might die because I wasn't there to protect them."

"Carlisle will help." Emmett assured me. "He's a great doctor."

"We should go." Jasper announced.

"Is it safe?" Edward asked him. "Will he phase?"

"He's good."

They were talking about me as if I wasn't there.

"If we're taking you home, we need to be sure you won't phase. You can hurt someone." Edward explained.

I ignored him and took the lead. As we approached Forks and La Push I grew more anxious. Jasper had to use his powers on me again. All kind of doubts assaulted me. What if Leah lost Harry and blamed me? What if she died too? Would Carlisle be able to save her and my child?

"Focus, Jacob." Edward said.

I only realised we were in La Push when I saw Sam, Jared, Brady and Collin. They were outside of Leah's house. Brady was sitting down on the fence while the others were pacing around. Sam stopped when he saw me.

"She should've howled." He said. "I would've gone to her faster. When I reached her, she was already on the ground."

Edward shook his head to make him stop talking.

I walked inside the house with Emmett, Jasper and Edward following me closely behind. Esme, Bella, Rosalie and Alice were already there. Near the stairs were Quil, Embry and Paul. Sue, Rachel and Seth were coming down to join them.

I could hear Carlisle upstairs talking to Leah. If she was screaming like that, then maybe her situation wasn't so bad. However there was a strong metallic scent in the air which meant she was bleeding badly.

"Jake… I'm so glad you're here." Rachel was the first one to talk.

"How is she?" I asked trembling slightly.

"Having the baby." Sue replied.

"What?"

I thought she was hurt from phasing but I never realised she could be having the baby now. Carlisle was supposed to help her to heal not making a delivery.

"There was a rupture in her womb. There's no way to keep the baby inside any longer. Either he comes out or they die." Edward informed. He was probably reading his father's thoughts.

I reached for the wall for support and Seth put a hand on my shoulder. Upstairs Leah was screaming louder and Carlisle was telling her to push.

"Maybe you should go there." Quil suggested. "She might want to see you."

I nodded. No one stopped me as I went upstairs, step by step. I was afraid of what I would find inside that bedroom. Would Leah give birth to a dead baby? Was she going to bleed to death?

I didn't knock on the door. Even with superhuman hearing, Carlisle and Leah would not be able to listen to the knocks on the door. She was screaming again and Carlisle was too busy trying to help her. So I simply pushed the door open and walked inside. I was overwhelmed by the blood on the floor and around Leah. Her sheets and clothes were red instead of white.

I kneeled next to the bed and took her hand in mine. She was sweating and cursing.

"How are you doing?" I asked quietly when she stopped pushing.

"You are fucking kidding me, right?" She snarled. "I'm fucking dying in pain here while giving birth to your child and you have the nerve to ask me how I feel?"

"Okay… just do what Carlisle says, alright?"

"Do you think it's easy?" She squeezed my hand with such force she almost broke it.

"Leah… you're going to break my hand."

She just glared at me.

"Just a little bit more Leah… you're almost there." Carlisle instructed her. Leah cried and screamed and in the next moment there was a baby crying in the room. I felt my heart stop when Carlisle lifted the baby and wrapped him in a blue blanket. This was it. From this moment on I was someone else's father. I was a dad.

"You did an amazing job, congratulations." Said Carlisle smiling. "Harry is fine."

"You did it Leah." I kissed her forehead and then the doctor gave me my son. He was all red and crying but I guess that meant he had great lungs. He was probably smaller than a nine-month baby but he looked fine and healthy to me.

I was about to place Harry in Leah's arms when she screamed in agony.

"What's wrong?" I asked startled.

"This in unbelievable." The doctor said, examining Leah.

"Spit it out!" I demanded.

"We need to take her to the Hospital. I have to perform a c-section. She's having another baby…"

"What?" I blurted out in shock. Could this be possible? How the hell had Leah carried two babies and the ultrasounds only showed one?

"Another baby…" Leah mumbled. I guess she was as shocked as me. Maybe more.

Odessa Clearview had told me she was going to have twins. The old woman was right but now wasn't the time to think about prophecies and legends.

"It's a rare case of monozygotic twins. They grow in the womb in the exact same position. One of the babies was behind his brother and the ultrasound only showed the one in the front."

I didn't understand a fucking word the vampire doctor had said. All I wanted to know was if they were going to be okay.

"Rose." He called, opening the bedroom's door. "Prepare the car we need to go to the Hospital. Jacob, hand the baby over to Sue and follow us."

The next thing I knew I was in the hospital, in the waiting room. A nurse came to take Harry from Sue because he should be seen by a doctor. Now that she was Charlie's wife, Sue was known by practically everyone in Forks.

"That's my grandson in there Linda… take care good care of him, okay?"

"Don't worry Sue. We'll take good care of the little guy." The nurse disappeared with my son. One of my sons that is. If Carlisle managed to save the other baby, I'd have another child pretty soon.

"Everything will be fine Jake." Bella assured me but I didn't believe it would be that simple.

I spent the next hour pacing around in the waiting room. My friends came to give me hope and comfort but what really helped were the several cups of coffee that they brought along. Most of the Cullens waited for news outside the hospital because they didn't want to be recognised so in the end when Carlisle exited the Operation Room, there were only two more people beside me waiting: Seth and Sue.

Wearing a green suit, Carlisle smiled and joined us.

"A nurse is going to bring the baby in a few minutes." He announced.

"Is the baby okay?" I asked.

"He's fine now. He was not in the right position to come out that's why we had to operate. His umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck and he stopped breathing twice when we managed to bring him out. The doctors are watching him closely to see if he can be discharged."

"Will they be okay? I mean… they're only six months…" Sue questioned.

"They are small in size but all of their organs are formed. I think they'll be fine." Carlisle said. "Before going to the OR, Leah said she wanted the baby to be named after Billy."

Sue and Seth nodded and I fought the urge to cry.

"Nicole… bring William to meet his family." Carlisle opened the door behind him and a middle-age nurse walked inside carrying a small baby in her arms.

"He's beautiful." Sue said.

"And so small." Seth added.

_And mine._ I thought. We had twins. Harry and William just like our fathers.

"Do you want to hold your child?" The nurse asked but before I could answer she was already placing the baby in my arms.

William was very much like his twin brother only he didn't have blood in his body anymore and wasn't crying. He was sleeping when the nurse walked in but now that he was on my arms, he opened his eyes and looked at me.

Did he know I was his father? Did he know I loved him already?

"I'm sorry I never realised you were there as well." I whispered.

"William will spend the night here with his brother in the nursery, okay?" Nurse Nicole told us. "It's just a precaution."

I handed him back to her and Sue asked if she could go and see Harry. The nurse allowed her to go.

"How is Leah?" I asked when they were gone.

"She lost a lot of blood." Carlisle said, now with a serious expression. "She's alive. Since the doctors don't know that she's a wolf, they think she's not going to make it."

"Why?" Seth questioned.

"Because she lost too much blood and her bones and internal organs aren't completely functional right now. They will heal in time, but I don't know how long it will take. She's on life supporting machine because some of my colleagues think she'll crash eventually."

"Is she really okay?" I was worried. "If her organs aren't functioning… how will she survive?"

"She survived the c-section, so she will survive this as well. That's my medical opinion, of course, but…"

"But?" Seth and I said at the same time.

"I don't know when she'll start healing properly. During the procedure, Leah's body crashed because it focused on protecting the baby."

"What kind of complications is she dealing with?"

Carlisle looked at me for a couple of seconds before answering.

"Right now one of her kidneys isn't working and she has constant internal bleedings. Due to blood loss, her heart will probably fail a few times which will make her lungs collapse. Tomorrow I'll ask a few more exams so I'll be able to tell you more."

It was probably the worse medical diagnosis I had ever heard in my life. Even if she was a wolf, no one could actually assure me Leah would make it alive.

"I don't want to know more, I want to know if you can fix her like you fixed me when I was attacked by that newborn."

"It's not that easy." He admitted. "In your case, I just had to make sure your bones were in the right place to heal, in Leah's case it's not just the bones, it's everything: tissue, organs, everything needs repair and I can't just go into her room and open her up to put things in the right place. I did what I could in the operation room. Her womb was so severely wounded that I feared it would cause her death… so I tried to… arrange things so it could heal properly… the rest it's up to her. I hope her wolf genes are strong enough."

"So… She can die?"

"I don't think she'll die. But she might stay like this for a while. And even when she wakes up… she might not be the same person she was… physically and mentally."

xxxxxxxxxx

I don't remember crying this much not even when my mother died. Two days after giving birth Leah's heart had failed three times. The doctors, leaded by Carlisle, had managed to stabilize her.

All the exams Carlisle had done showed no improvements and despite the vampire doctor's words that she would get better, I could still see no light in the end of the tunnel. I hadn't left the hospital ever since. Leah needed me and I needed her. I couldn't go home until she got better.

The regular beeping sound coming from the machine let me know she was still unconscious. I wondered if she was dreaming of me and the babies. Seth, Sue and Emily used to come and see her in the morning. Embry, Quil and Rachel preferred to come in the afternoon. Nights were on me though. I was the only one who stayed with her at night.

Holding her hand always made me feel closer to her. It was in those moments that I let my tears run freely.

"Please wake up." I begged. "I need you so much. I need you to be here with me to take care of the babies. I need you to teach me how to be a father, Leah. I know you can do this, babe. I know you're strong."

I wiped my tears away when I heard someone walking inside the room.

"How are you doing Jake?" I recognized Embry's voice.

"I'm great."

"You need to come home." He said. I noted the sadness in his voice.

"She's going to wake up. I need to be here when she does."

"Doctor Cullen said she might only wake up in weeks, months… even years."

"I don't care. My place is here."

"Your place is with your family. They're worried about you and so am I. You've been here for too long. You don't eat or sleep…"

"It's only been two days Embry. I'm fine."

"It's been a week, Jacob. You lost track of time. You need to come with me before you fall from exhaustion."

"I left her once, Em… and look what happened. I can't leave her again."

"Then I'm sorry about this." Embry approached me and the next thing I knew I was on the cold floor and Embry was bent over me. "I'm doing this for your own good Jake."

It took me a while to recognize where I was. I didn't sleep in my own bed for quite a few weeks, probably more than a month actually, and the whole house reeked of Paul, since he had moved into my old place to live with my sister and my dad. That was the other reason that made me sleep more often at Leah's.

I also smelled the food placed on a tray on the top of my bedside table. My stomach growled, a clear sign that I should eat.

"How do you feel?" My sister Rachel, who was folding some of my clothes asked coming closer.

"My head hurts." I complained.

"Embry is sorry. He only did what we asked him to do. You must not blame him."

I tried to sit down but Rachel put a hand on my chest.

"Please Jake, eat something first." She begged. Her eyes were tearful. Usually Rachel was really strong. I had only seen her cry twice in her life. When our mother died and when Becca left La Push to go to Hawaii with her boyfriend.

"If I eat this will you let me go?"

"When you're strong enough, yes."

I sat down and started to eat my meal. It consisted in a cheese sandwich, fruit, juice and two slices of chocolate cake.

"You got us really worried Jake." She confessed, folding more clothes.

"I'm sorry." I said sincerely. It was never my intention to get my family worried about me.

"I met Leah that day…" She turned to me and sat down on a chair right beside my bed. "When you left to meet the Cullens, she left the house and went for a walk in First Beach. I tagged along because I wanted to speak to her."

"What about?"

"About me being a horrible friend. I apologised and told her I wanted us to be friends again."

"What did she say?"

"She forgave me." Rachel started to cry. "She… forgave me… and then I left her all alone and she was attacked by that vampire and…"

"It's okay, Rach… It's not your fault." I said while my sister was sobbing uncontrollably. "It wasn't your job to protect her, it was mine."

Rachel looked at me and wiped her tears away with the sleeve of her red blouse.

"It was not your fault either Jake."

I diverted my eyes from hers. Of course it was my fault. I was Leah's boyfriend, Leah's alpha and the father of her children. It was my job to be with her and make sure nothing happened.

"Is dad alright?" I asked.

"Alright? Jake… everything's a chaos since that day… You need to stay here and put yourself together, okay?"

That was not possible. I wanted to be with Leah. Even if she was asleep, I wanted to stay close to her. Hold her hand, feel her scent, hear her breathing.

"You can't keep me here." I said getting up. I stumbled a few steps and Rachel helped me to lie down again. "What did you give me?"

"It wasn't my idea but we need to make sure you stay here." Rachel whispered. I yawned and my eyes began to close. "Just remember that I love you little brother. Sweet dreams." I felt Rachel's lips on my forehead and then I blacked out. I didn't have sweet dreams though. I had the same nightmare I had been having since Irina had attacked Leah. I dreamed that Leah was fighting with Irina and I was there watching. I wanted to move and help Leah but I couldn't because an invisible force was chaining me to the ground. Then Leah was suddenly on the floor, bleeding and screaming. She was asking for help and calling my name over and over but there was nothing I could do.

xxxxxxxxxx

The sun was rising when I woke up. I could hear someone in the kitchen, probably making breakfast. Before I could get out of bed, Rachel walked in with a cup of coffee. I didn't take it.

"It's okay. I didn't put anything inside." She promised. "It's just coffee."

"I don't want it." I said stubbornly. All I wanted was new clothes and leave at once.

"There's someone here to see you." My sister announced. "I'm going to let her in."

I wasn't expecting to see Bella. She walked inside and smiled a little when she saw me.

"You looked better." She said.

"I'll take that as a compliment." I said. "Can you pass me my clothes? I need to get going."

"We need to talk."

"I'm not in the mood for your lectures."

"Look… I'm not going to pretend that I know what you've been going through. I've obviously underestimated your feelings for Leah, but right now I know that you can't go back to that hospital room." She stated.

"You don't get to tell me what to do."

"You feel guilty… We all do Jake. Not just us… everyone. Seth, Embry, Quil… your pack, remember them? Your father, your sister, Paul… Sam, Emily, Jared… Should I keep going? Do you remember your family and friends?"

"Shut up, Bella."

"You have a job to do here. You have a family and friends who need you. You have children who need to be with their father."

"I told you to shut up!"

"I won't shut up! Did you know the Denalis were here three days ago? Did you know we had to call Embry to meet them in your behalf? Did you know Sam wanted to reunite the packs and throw you out because you're not fit to lead? Do you know Seth faced Sam and they almost fought?"

"I don't care about the packs. All I care is about Leah and the babies."

"Really?" She asked and I noted the sarcasm in her voice. "If that's true why haven't you visited your children since they were born?"

"I'm going there today." That was probably a lie. I always meant to see the twins but every time I got inside the hospital I would go to Leah's room and I would stay there.

"They're not in the hospital anymore, Jake. They've been discharged. They were healthy enough to go home. Do you know who they're staying with? Do you even care about them?"

"Yes, Bella!" I yelled. "I care about them! They're mine! But I can't see them right now!"

I was afraid. I had failed their mother. How could I face them knowing that it was my fault they didn't have a mum to take care of them?

"Then you won't see them for a long time Jake."

"What do you mean?"

"Sue took them. She's taking care of the twins and doesn't even let your father visit. She went to the registry office and named them Harry and William Clearwater. The twins don't even have your name!"

"I'll sort things out, Bella. I just need more time to be with Leah."

"She's in a coma. She can't do a thing right now."

"I know!" I yelled again. "I know she's in a coma! I know she left me! I know I should've protected her!"

I sat down on the bed and the tears came again. I didn't want to cry in front of Bella but I was tired of keeping all of that sadness inside.

"Jake… I'm so sorry…" She sat beside me. "If we'd know Irina was coming here, we would've never asked you to meet us. We never meant for this to happen. You can't blame yourself for something that was out of your reach."

"I'm lost without her. I don't know what to do." I confessed. "She was supposed to have the baby when she reached the ninth month. It would be the most amazing day of our lives. Then we would come home and be a family. Just the three of us. But now… she's not here and I have two children and a damn family feud in my hands."

"That's why I'm here. I think I can help you with that."

"I'll talk to Sue."

"It won't make a difference. Sue is too upset to listen to anyone. She blames you for what happened to Leah and she obviously thinks you have no right to see the babies."

"But I'm their father."

"Legally, they don't have a father. I've seen their birth certificates, there's only Leah's name in it."

"If I talk to her, she has to listen to me."

"Don't be so sure. We're talking about Sue."

"What's your suggestion then? Kidnap the babies during the night?"

"No. Carlisle can provide a DNA test confirming you're the twins' father. With that paper you can request the custody of the babies for you or someone you trust. You'll be their legal guardian and as long as Leah is in a coma. If you do this, no one will take away your kids."

"I can't do that until I talk to Sue."

Right now I didn't mind that Sue was taking care of my children. I was in no condition to be the guardian of two newborns. She was their grandmother and she loved them, besides Sue had raised two kids of her own, she was not a rookie like me. I didn't even know how to change a diaper or feed them.

"If you're going to speak to her, don't go alone. If you go to her porch on your own she'll take Harry's old gun and she will shoot you."

I followed Bella's advice on that one because I knew I was dealing with one hell of a woman. Leah was a force of nature but Sue was ten times worse. So, after taking a shower and eating my breakfast, I took Rachel and dad with me and we headed over to the Clearwater's house. On the way dad told me about his argument with Sue. This was a family business after all.

Seth was the one who opened the door and despite the tired look on his face he seemed happy to see me. Unfortunately I couldn't say the same for Sue. She practically growled when she saw us.

"What the hell do you want Jacob?" She asked crossing her arms and frowning.

"Can we talk? Please?" I asked.

She allowed us to go into the kitchen. Seth offered us coffee and Rachel went to give him a hand. I had learned that Seth and my sister had a few heated arguments in the last few days too, but now they seemed to be getting along just fine.

"I want to thank you for taking care of my children." I wanted to make sure that Sue didn't see me as a threat. Unfortunately she wasn't in the mood to cooperate.

"Your children? Since when? You don't have children, Jacob. They're my Leah's babies… they don't have a father."

"I'm their father."

"You were, until the day you left Leah to run after Bella."

"I never ran after Bella. I went to see the Cullens because they said it was important and they needed my help. We have an agreement with them, remember? The Council wants us to respect that agreement, right?"

"When they were born, I went to you three times to inform you that the children were ready to go home and we needed to have their birth certificates before leaving the hospital. You ignored me… you ignored them… so I solved everything by myself."

"You had no right Sue." My father said. "Jacob was too worried about Leah to think clearly."

"I had every right Billy. Jacob isn't the only one worried about my daughter. But he is responsible for what happened and he is not fit to take care of two babies."

"I would help." Rachel offered. "We could all work together."

"Mum… they're Jacob's kids." Seth added. "Leah wouldn't approve this."

"You can't keep me from seeing them." I said.

"Watch me." Sue warned. "Look… I know you are their father, and I know you wish you could go back in time and change things but you can't. Right now you are in no condition and have no means to raise two newborn babies. My daughter is lying in a bed and when she wakes up… if she wakes up… she might even find you gone."

"Gone? What the hell do you mean? I'm going to stay by her side!" I stated.

"You might find your soul mate Jake. That's what I meant… and when that happens, these kids won't mean anything to you, or my daughter… I've seen it happening with the others, you won't be any different. They need someone to be here for them no matter what."

"I won't stop loving them…"

"But it won't be enough. Right now you need time to deal with the guilt and the pain. In a month or in a year… if Leah doesn't wake up, you'll move on. Where does that leave these babies?"

I couldn't provide her an answer.

"They're my grandsons Sue. I have the right to see them."

"We'll discuss visits when I forgive you for threatening to call the Social Services, Billy Black."

"I can work… Help you with money…" I offered.

"You're eighteen years old, you just finished high school, you don't have a job and you're an alpha." Sue put a hand on my shoulder. "We'll be fine. They'll have me, Charlie and Seth."

"So you won't let me see them?"

"I think it's best for now if you don't see them. Later on… if you still feel the same about them, maybe we can sort something out."

The conversation was over and I realised Bella was right. Sue blamed me and wouldn't accept me in the twins' lives for now, at least.

"Jake?" Seth called when we were leaving. "Wait in the backyard. I'll see you in ten minutes." He made sure Sue didn't hear him.

Rachel and dad went home and I followed Seth's instructions. Ten minutes later Charlie's patrol car came to pick up Sue. Then Seth called me inside again. He took me upstairs into Sue and Harry's old bedroom that was now the twins' room. It wasn't properly painted or decorated but all the things the Cullens had bought for Harry were in there. The twins were sleeping, sharing one crib because the other wasn't assembled yet.

"Charlie offered William's crib but we didn't have time to build it yet. Things are quite… confusing. They cry a lot during the night and since there are two of them… mum and I have to take shifts."

"How are you doing Seth?" I asked when I realised he was about to cry.

He simply shrugged.

"Have you been patrolling?"

"When I can…"

"You shouldn't. You need to study. It's your final year."

"Embry and Quil have been covering for me… Sam says if we can't cope as a pack, we should join him but we don't want to."

"I'm sorry I'm causing you trouble." I confessed.

Embry and Quil were securing patrols, Seth was practically raising my kids with Sue and my family was worried sick about me.

"Do you want to assemble the crib for Will?" Seth asked me and I nodded. At least this way I'd be able to do something for my kids. I read the instructions and the rest was quite easy.

"They look a lot like you." Seth said inspecting the crib to see if it was safe to place William there.

I held Harry and realised he was right. They were a copy of each other and miniatures of me. Their hair was black hair and their eyes were brown. I felt proud.

"But when they cry, they look like Leah." Seth added and we both laughed. "I miss my sister, Jake."

"I know… I miss her too."

"I want you to know that I don't blame you for what happened. I blame Irina."

"You're a good friend." I let him know. And it was true. Seth was a great friend, a brave protector, a good son, an awesome brother and he was proving to be an amazing uncle as well. "Do you think your mother will change her mind about letting me see the twins?"

"Not anytime soon. You know my mother… but I think she's kind of right…"

"You think I shouldn't be allowed to see my kids?"

"No. It's not that… It's just that… I'm afraid that Leah was right."

"Right about what?"

"What if fate is trying to tell you something?"

"I don't understand."

"My sister is not your imprint. Somehow she just happened to… get pregnant with your kids. As a wolf and since you're the alpha you're supposed to have children with your soul mate not with Leah. And fate found a way to punish her."

"Are you serious?"

"Leah thought so too. She told me she had a bad feeling about the delivery because fate could turn against her again. She was certain that she would die. And look what happened…"

"She's not dead and neither are the babies."

"She's in a coma and might stay like that for years… and the babies… my mum will make sure you won't get too attached to them. I think this is fate giving you a way out."

"I don't want a way out."

"I know you love my sister. I've seen it in your head and I was surprised when I realized you love her more than you ever loved Bella. But neither of them was your soul mate… Bella chose her path and the old spirits clearly don't want you and Leah to be together. If you stay with Harry and William, fate might punish them too."

"So I'm supposed to watch my kids growing up from afar?"

"If that means they'll be safe, yes."

"Will they know I'm their father?"

"That's up to my mother."

"Then I guess I already know the answer, after all their birth certificate doesn't even mention my name."

"I'm sorry Jake."

I kissed Harry in the head and then I held William and hugged him closely. They were my children. I wasn't going to let them go. I would have to make sure that Sue wouldn't be able to take them away from me. Even if I wasn't ready to be a father, Harry and William were mine.

xxxxxxxxxx

"Are you sure about this Jake?" Bella asked. We were at the Cullen's mansion, there were a few papers scattered all over the table in the living room. Edward was also present as well as a man named Arthur Anderson, a lawyer.

"I'm sure." I stated firmly and I signed the papers that Anderson had given me.

"As of this moment, the custody of Harrison and William Clearwater, grandsons of William Black Jr. and Sarah Wilde, and of Harrison Clearwater and Susan Uley, is legally transferred to Edward Cullen and Isabella Swan until the day one of their biological parents, Jacob Black and Leah Clearwater, decide to ask these legal rights for themselves. Do you understand what this means, Mr. Black?" Anderson asked me.

"I do."

"Do you have any questions?"

"Yes… What about changing their last name?"

"The request has been denied because Sue threatened to move a lawsuit against you and if you are involved in a lawsuit, the twins' custody papers might be revoked by the Court since you and Leah aren't legally married." He explained. "You can make a new request in four months. For now, Edward and Bella have the twins' custody and Sue can't oppose. That's what matters."

"Are you sure about that?" I insisted.

"The DNA test confirms you're the twins' father and you have the right to their custody while their mother is in the hospital."

"Okay."

Anderson shared a handshake with me and then left. In two days Sue would have to give the twins to Edward and Bella. It had been almost three weeks since Leah had the twins and I had decided to go away for a while. I had spent the last week in Leah's hospital room but even though she was stable, she wasn't making any progress.

I had finally realized I couldn't be there any longer. I had to accept that Leah could never wake up. La Push was full of old memories for me. I needed to clear my thoughts but I didn't want to leave my kids with Sue.

She was their grandmother and I wouldn't forbid her to see them but I wouldn't allow her to tell my kids in the future that their father had ran away like a coward. Edward and Bella would make sure they would know the truth.

"How long are you going to stay away?" Edward asked me when I was taking my bag to the Rabbit parked outside their property.

"I don't know." Sometimes I would tell myself it would be just for a few days, maybe two or three weeks. Other times I used to think about a year, maybe more. The truth was, I was lost. Really lost. I had no answers, no hopes, no future.

"Did you say goodbye to them?"

"Yes. Seth let me say goodbye last night while Sue was sleeping."

"Are you really sure about this?"

"You don't want them here?"

"Of course I want them here. Everyone wants them here. Rosalie is probably your biggest fan right now."

"Where is she by the way?"

"Off to buy more baby stuff. She won't stop until she empties all of the stores."

"At least she's happy."

"You could've given the custody to your sister or your father."

"I could but… you have better conditions to take care of them. My family doesn't have much money. My father's pension only covers his meds, Paul isn't working and Rachel's salary is not much.

"So that's the only reason you picked us? And I thought it was because I'm your best friend."

I laughed at his sarcasm. I had pick them because Sue could never enter in a court battle against the Cullens.

"And because Bella asked you…" Edward added after reading my mind.

"I trust her. When I come back I'm sure she'll give me the twins' custody if I ask her to."

"And with Carlisle nearby, the twins will have free medical care."

"Exactly." I agreed.

"Just make sure you come back, okay?"

"Missing me already?"

Edward gave me a sad smile.

"I hope you find whatever it is that you're looking for Jacob."

"So do I."

xxxxxxxxxx

I did not find what I was looking for. At least not outside La Push anyways. I visited a small town on the coast of Oregon that I didn't even bother to know the name. I stayed in a motel a couple of nights and then I went back to La Push, where I felt that I had left my soul.

I spend a whole day with my children. Bella and Edward went hunting but the other Cullens were in the house, making sure the kids were alright. And they were. Harry and William were being well taken care of. I knew I would have to thank Rosalie and Esme for that. Despite giving their custody to Bella, the blonde vampire and the Carlisle's wife were the ones who were delighted to spend time with the boys.

Carlisle told me that Sue almost had a fit when Edward and Bella showed her the papers of the twins' custody. She only gave them up when Bella said she would call the authorities. I figured if I showed up at Sue's door right now, she would certainly kill me.

The next day I left the Cullen's mansion and headed east. I was forced to make a stop in Cottonwood, Idaho. The Rabbit needed a new tyre and I spend three days in town. I had nothing to do and no one to talk to. I went to a coffee shop and spent a lot of hours in there. The waitress asked me if I was waiting for someone but I never replied. I dialled Leah's phone number and waited to hear her voice before the messages went to voice mail.

When Cottonwood became boring I went back home. Every time I reached La Push I would feel better but then after staying for a couple of hours I would feel as if I was suffocating. I didn't want to leave but I couldn't stay there without Leah by my side. Those were the worst times I had to endure. Phasing was also a problem because I could see Leah clearly in my memories. Sometimes it almost felt she was right next to me.

Somewhere along all of those trips and hours of immense confusion in my head, I would often find myself at First Beach, with a pack of beer next to me and with no recollection of what day it was or what I had done. Sometimes it was hard to find where I had parked the Rabbit.

That morning was cold and the sea was agitated. I woke up when the water reached my feet and I got up immediately. I knew I was drowning, not literally, of course. I was trying to understand what I was supposed to do with my life but things were just getting worse. There would be a day I would regret it. There would be a day everyone would look at me as if I were just a stupid old drunk who left his kids when they most needed.

I walked through the forest and found comfort on La Push's cemetery. I searched for my mother's grave and I sat on the floor. I needed someone to listen to me and if the living were too busy, I'd talk with the dead.

"I don't know where to start mum… I've been an idiot lately. I've let everyone down. I couldn't protect the woman I love. She's still in that hospital bed, fighting for her life. I left dad… but he has Rachel now. She's back and she married Paul Lahote. Yeah… I know it sucks, but he imprinted on her. I don't know what to do. I want to be able to move on, get my kids and give them the life they deserve but I don't think I can do it without Leah. I have no idea how I fell in love with her mum… but I know she's the one and I can't accept that this is it for us. Did you know we had twins? Two boys and they look like me although Seth says they have Leah's temper. You would love to meet them, mum. I just wish you could tell me what to do… I wish I could speak to Leah one last time."

I waited for an answer that never came, so I stood up, ready to leave and that's when I heard someone call my name.

"Jacob Black."

I turned around slowly and there she was.

"Leah?"

**To be continued…**

* * *

Special thanks: teamtorettosupporter, Blackwater Crazziii, Cracker679, TheSkeptic88, Jeakat, Tara Maria, Queen Leti, Firefly-class, MelkiSihou, brankel1, Kwop, MoliWood, rocklesson86, crystal, Weave the Magic, WEML101, Scimitar X, Guest, nene82743, Kary G, hgmsnoopy.

I'd also like to thank everyone who added this story to their favourite's list.

A/Note: This chapter was a bitch. I don't really know what it's like to give birth (I sure hope I never will, 'cause it sounds really painful), all I know is that I've covered almost all of Our Dawn 2, and I'll be finishing soon. One more chapter and the specials of Our Dawn 2 are over. Thanks for reading.


	15. Ep 15 - Making it work

Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer not me.

Author/Note 1: This one-shot follows what happens between chapters 43 and 44 of _Our Dawn 2_.

A/Note 2: I'm not a native English speaker so I'm sorry for my grammar and spelling. Thank you for reading.

**_Our Dawn Series Specials_**

**_Episode Fifteen – Making it work_**

**_Jacob Black_**

Things were a lot harder than I thought they'd be. I thought living with Leah and our baby boys would somehow be the answer for some of my problems. I was wrong. It was good to have some independence from my father and honestly I didn't see myself living under the same roof with my sister and her husband, but living with Leah was proving to be one of the hardest challenges I had ever faced. I would face ten leeches at once instead of Leah, anytime.

It started with the toilet seat. It is common knowledge that men take a piss with the toilet seat up while women prefer the toilet seat down. Both parts think they're right and honestly, probably both are.

When I use the bathroom I have to put the toilet seat up the same way she has to put it down. If I can put it up without bitching about it, why does she have to yell at me when she uses the bathroom and finds the seat up? Why can't she just put it down and be happy?

After that she complained about my clothes on the floor. Some women complain that their husbands or boyfriends leave their clothes all over the house. Fortunately for Leah I don't owe enough clothes to leave it scattered all over the house. The only place I leave my clothes in, it's the bedroom.

She says I have some sort of spinal deficiency that prevents me from bending and pick up my stuff. I think she's a hypocrite because she does exactly the same, the only difference is that she picks up her clothes every morning and I don't because I have to patrol from four o'clock in the morning until eight and when I get home I'm too tired to do it. Besides she had Sue to teach her stuff like that, I had two crazy twin sisters who only taught me not to go into their bedroom.

And there are millions of other things that Leah hates that I do. She complains that I always leave the cup of coffee on top of the computer desk, she complains that I never swipe the floor, she complains I don't help her cook (even when though I try, she's the one who always sends me away), she complains and bitches about everything.

At least that morning I would not have to listen to her complaints. I was still in bed for it was my day off from patrols and I was getting my well-deserved rest. But then I received a text message. I know it was form Leah the moment my cell phone biped. _'Don't forget they eat at ten and you need to bathe them an hour before.'_

Today I was home alone with the boys. Leah was in a job interview, the sixth in a month. After replying her message with a _'Yes, honey. I love you too'_ I dragged myself to the bathroom to have a quick shower. Sadly rest time was over.

My kids were now four months old. To Sue's disappointment they looked exactly like me. All of the stupid rumours about me not being their father were gone. Not that we were bothered about the rumours, it was just annoying listen to everyone say your kids aren't really yours. Right now I would dare anyone to say that. After only one good look at Harry or William, no one could actually say they weren't mine.

Despite sharing my good looks they both shared Leah's temper. And today was the first time I'd be completely on my own. Leah's interview would take a few hours and I was in charge. She had prepared everything the previous night: their meals, their clothes, she had even written a note about how to prepare the water to bathe them, but there were things I simply didn't know how to do. Changing diapers for example. I was not looking forward to change the twins' dirty diapers.

The thing was I was a father for four months. I still had a lot to learn. I wanted to be the best dad in the world but some 'baby stuff' was complicated. Women had that motherly instinct that told them exactly what their baby needs, what he wants, how to do things, when he's sick or hungry. Men are an entirely different story. We know nothing about that stuff, our job is to put money on the house, food on the table and play with them.

When the time comes, I'll teach Harry and Will how to make mud pies, how to ride a bicycle, how to play X-Box, how to download movies illegally, how to wrestle and, most likely, how to become a protector of La Push. Those things I could do. The rest was pretty much up to Leah.

When I went to the twins' bedroom they were already awake and waiting for their bath. Fortunately it turned out quite alright. I didn't have to use all of the stuff Leah had showed me to measure up the water temperature and shit like that. I did everything the old fashioned way: I used my hand. If it was too hot for me, it was certainly too hot for them.

The boys liked to bathe. I had peaked in one of Leah's books about kids that babies loved water and our boys weren't an exception. They moved a lot and when we finished there was water all over the floor but I didn't care to clean it. I took them over to their bedroom again to dress them up with the clothes Leah had previously selected them. Harry and Will never dressed equally. Even though we could already tell them apart, we didn't like to see them wearing the same outfit. Usually Harry wore blue and William wore green.

"You look handsome, guys. You're going to be a heartbreaker, just like dad." I kissed both of them and wondered if they'd actually think of me as a heartbreaker if I'd tell them Leah was my only girlfriend. I guess I could always make up a few stories about how all the girls in La Push used to want a piece of me. A guy needs to have a reputation, even if it's all made up.

The kitchen was my next challenge: it was breakfast time and I was thirty minutes late, according to Leah, who had just texted me again. I took a cup of coffee and a toast for myself while preparing the twins' bottles. I thought everything was working out perfectly until they started to reject the milk bottles. That's when things turned ugly.

I ended up covered in milk and none of them actually ate. They just played with the bottle of milk and spitted on me, several times. I gave up after a half an hour and decided that sooner or later I'd have to call for the cavalry. I couldn't let them starve, right?

Sue would obviously be my first choice but to call her asking for help would be the same as accepting I was a lousy father, just like she had wanted to prove ever since I had moved in with Leah. Sue was still angry that Leah and I weren't married, even though she should blame that one on her daughter, and she was disappointed that I hadn't been searching for a job.

I wanted to do both things. I wanted to marry Leah as soon as possible but the job was a priority because raising two kids was expensive. However finding a suitable job in the reservation was not that easy. Leah was having more luck than me in that department. She'd been called for six job interviews so far. Actually she could have started a job two weeks ago at a local bar, outside Forks, but I had forbade her to take it.

It was a bar, for the Spirits' sake. A bar ran by an idiot called Vance Masterpiece for that matter. And as if that wasn't bad enough it had a bad reputation. Some said many barmaids ended up giving the costumers a striptease show. No way in hell I'd let my future wife work in a place like that. Besides, the payment was not that good.

Leah took my reaction for jealousy. She tried to talk me out of it but I just told her that if she accepted the job I'd give her an alpha command. I would never allow my woman to be touched and groped by other men in a lousy and stinky bar. When she realised I wasn't joking she gave up on the subject.

So, I couldn't call Sue Clearwater. She'd be on my case for the rest of the day.

Then there was Emily. She was always eager to help but if I called her, Sam could pick up the phone and after our fight last month, I didn't want to push that button again. Actually Sam and I weren't allowed to be in public together if not miles away from each other.

He was still not used to the idea that Leah was mine and he had the nerve to meet her and try to talk her not to marry me. Sadly for him Leah was already wearing my mother's wedding ring. I wasn't jealous of Sam anymore because I knew how Leah felt about me, but it was annoying to have his constant shadow lurking. He ought to know his place by now. Leah was my beta, my mate, the mother of my children. There was no room for him anymore, plus he had Emily.

Sam was one of the reasons I wanted to marry Leah soon. Once we'd marry, Sam would have to close this chapter of his life for good. The problem was that we still had to set up the date. Leah wanted to wait. Not a month or two, she wanted to wait a whole year, or maybe even more. Lately, as expected, we had been arguing about that often. So far Leah was winning, but I wasn't going to give up so easily. I knew that soon enough she'd have to change her mind.

So, Emily was a bad idea too.

There was, on last resort, Rachel. I could call my sister and ask her to help me with the kids but she was now five months pregnant and Paul wouldn't let her leave the house without him. And today I was not in the mood to deal with Paul Lahote. Actually I don't think there's a day I can put up with Paul. Since Rachel had announced her pregnancy Paul had changed a bit but not enough to turn into a responsible grown man. He still didn't have a job and was acting overprotectively towards my sister, which was normal because wolves were very protective with their females and cubs, but at least the jokes about me being a dad at eighteen, had ceased since he was practically in the same boat.

I took the twins back to their cribs to soothe them. They usually slept a whole hour or two after taking their bottles. Harry yawned and went to sleep almost immediately but Will kept tossing and turning and then he began to cry. And when Will began to cry, Harry woke up and joined the show. So now I had two babies crying.

I realised that Will was crying because he didn't have his favourite blanket. It was a yellow rag that had belonged to Seth once and Sue had given it to William while she had their custody months ago. Harry had one too but it was from a different colour.

I searched for the damn blanket all over the house to no avail. The damn thing seemed to have vanished and the boys were still crying. Under our bed I found a box full of Leah's stuff. The contents of the box were books about single parenting. I wondered why Leah had those books hidden under the bed.

I knew that when Leah learned she was pregnant she had plans to have the baby and go to Seattle on her own. She planned to raise our child by herself. Thinking about that was not pleasant for me because back in those days, Leah was alone, carrying my children and I had been kept in the dark for most part of her pregnancy. I didn't like to remember that if things had happened the way she had planned I would never know I was a father at all.

_I can always get her pregnant again and spend all nine months babysitting her. My inner wolf would like that. I would like that too, though nine months is quite a long time._

I put the box back in its place and kept searching for the blanket. When I finally found it, Harry and Will were screaming at the top of their lungs and it was impossible to put them back to sleep.

I was forced to make a choice. I could spend the entire morning trying to get them to calm down or I could call someone to help me. Like a coward, I chose the easy way.

Ten minutes later, Rosalie Hale and Emmett Cullen were knocking on my door. By calling Blondie I had avoided Sue's endless lectures, Sam's criticism and Paul's childish attitude, but I was sure that Leah would not approve my choice

"I could hear them crying in our house. And we live miles away from here. What have you done?" Rosalie pushed me over and entered the house with her husband following her like a puppy.

"If you're here to lecture me and tell me I'm a shitty dad, you can turn around and leave. I get plenty of that from Sue."

Rosalie measured her options. If she kept acting like a bitch, I'd throw her out and she wouldn't be able to spend some quality time with my kids, whom she absolutely adored.

"Fine." She said. "How can help you?"

"That's much better, Blondie. Now follow me."

"Where's Leah?" Emmett asked while we were going up the stairs.

"She had a job interview."

"Another bar?" Rosalie questioned.

"Not this time. Sue pulled a few strings and convinced Sonya Levy to give Leah a chance at the Community Centre."

"Working here in La Push will be great for Leah even if it's in the other side of the reservation. That way she can spend more time with the kids." Rosalie said. "What about you mutt? Have you found a job?"

"I'm still searching…" That was a lie. I had quitted my job hunt a few weeks ago but I still haven't told anyone about my plans. I wanted Leah to be the first to know. Last month I had decided that I wanted to become a professional mechanic. I wanted to open my own repair shop, so I had applied to an auto mechanic school in Seattle and I had been accepted. I'd start classes in a year.

"We wouldn't mind to help…" Emmett said. "Just tell us what you need."

"We're fine." Another lie. I was not a professional mechanic yet but I was definitely becoming a professional liar. Of course we weren't fine. None of us was working so all the money we were using now was from Leah's school fund and my savings. And it was running short already. Soon we'd be forced to ask Sue for help.

"Why are they covered in milk?" The blonde vampire asked watching Harry and Will crying.

"They spit their breakfast. Half of their bottles' contents are all over me."

"Did you warm the milk?"

"I don't think so... I don't remember." I confessed. I had probably skipped one of Leah's instructions' items.

"You can't give them cold milk, it's bad for the babies." She rolled her eyes. "Come on boys, let's clean up and have some real breakfast with Aunt Rose." She sang happily.

Emmett and I just watched as she took control of the situation. Rosalie never had a chance to have a baby when she was human. It was a shame though because she would be a good mother. Not that I would ever say that out loud, but it was true. Becoming a vampire didn't erase the maternal instincts she had though. Actually, there were human women who had less maternal instincts than her.

"I love watching her on mother mode." Emmett whispered.

She bathe them a second time, gave them their bottles after warming them up, which they gladly emptied in a matter of seconds and then it was 'changing diapers time'. Emmett and I gave a few steps back. Usually Leah ruled that department. I always made sure to be busy when it was time to change the twins' diapers. Leah did try to teach me a couple of times but I never stayed more than two seconds in the room to learn properly.

"Now that you've seen how to bathe and feed them, there's only one more thing you need to learn." She smiled.

"I know how to bathe them…" I said defensibly.

"And now you'll learn how to change a diaper." She stated firmly.

"I think I'll pass."

"What if there's no one to help you out?"

"Changing diapers in not my thing." I told her.

"Don't be such a hussy." Emmett laughed. "It's just a diaper."

"Why don't you try then?" I retorted and the smile on his face was gone in an instant.

_Touché, sucker._

"Why not?" Rosalie clapped her hands and put the babies on their cribs. "There are two of them and two of you. It's a perfect match."

"I don't need to learn this stuff, babe." Emmett tried to bail out. "I'm not their father and…"

"You're Harry's godfather. If something happens to me, you'll have to look out for him, remember?" I grinned.

That was not completely true. Leah had accepted the leeches for Harry and William's godparents but only if they followed her rules. One of those rules said that they could never be left alone with our children. Leah would rather die than leave our kids with the Cullens.

"The mutt is right." Rosalie agreed. "Now get your ass in here."

Emmett cursed under his breath and stepped forward.

"Don't make me do this, babe." He whined.

"It's only baby poop."

Women always say that. As if baby poop is actually different from other people's poop.

"I'm sorry if I'm not used to this anymore." Emmett whined again. More desperately this time, because Rosalie was starting to take off Harry's diaper. "Vampires don't poop, Rosie… Please don't make me do this. I can't even look."

Emmett closed his eyes and Rosalie slapped him in the head with her free hand. I laughed and Emmett groaned in annoyance. Luckily Harry's diaper was clear of poop so Emmett sighed in relief and followed his wife's instructions while putting a new diaper on my son.

I wasn't so lucky. And I'd be lying if I said that I had fun changing Will's dirty diaper. The only reason I didn't flee the room was because I wanted to prove Emmett I was braver than he was. In the end I won a hundred bucks. Some sacrifices sure paid off.

"Now what?" I asked Blondie.

"Now they'll sleep." She said confidently. "And you can have some time to yourself… A bath wouldn't hurt. You stink."

"You want to play?" I asked Emmett ignoring Rosalie. I hadn't touched the X-Box in ages. Embry and Quil were always busy working, patrolling or spending time with their families and imprint. Seth was now living in Forks with Sue and Charlie and he was also busy studying. He had finished high school and had recently discovered he wanted to become a doctor. I had no one to play with.

Emmett and I ended up spending too much time playing. Rosalie didn't mind because she enjoyed being with the twins for a while longer. When the vampire couple finally left they ran into Leah who was coming back home.

She walked in and went straight into the twins' bedroom to check on them. They were both asleep with their respective toys and blankets.

"What were they doing here?" She asked kissing the boys. "They know the rules. They see the boys every weekend, isn't that enough?"

"Actually... I called them... her... I mean, I called Rosalie because..."

"You called her? Why?" The aggressive tone on Leah's voice told me this was not going to end up well for me.

"They were crying."

"So what?"

"And I couldn't feed them properly."

"So you called a vampire instead of me or my mother?"

"I can't stand your mother's lectures anymore."

"You can't call Rosalie every time the twins cry." Leah pointed out.

"It was just for today... I was desperate and I didn't want to upset you. Plus... I've changed Will's diaper."

"Actually, it won't be just for today. I got the job so you're going to have to stay with the boys from now on."

I didn't know if I was happy for her, or worried about me. Finding a job in the reservation was good for Leah. It would mean more money for us and Leah would be close to home. But that also meant I'd have to stay with the babies.

Unfortunately it was pretty obvious that I wasn't ready to stay with the kids on my own. And if I so much suggested having Rosalie as our babysitter, Leah would kill me.

"Did you hear me?" Leah asked.

"Yes. You got the job. Congratulations."

"I thought you'd be pleased. I'm starting next week."

"I am."

"No, you're not." Leah left the twins' bedroom. "What's wrong? Are you getting tired of being a dad already?"

"Of course not." I stated immediately. "Look... it's hard to explain."

"Try me."

"Okay... in that case you try to explain to me why you're keeping that box hidden under our bed." I demanded. "What's with the books?"

"I bought them when I was living with the leeches in Canada. I was going to be a single mum so I needed guidance."

"But you're not alone anymore, are you? You have me, so why the hell did you keep the books?"

Leah shrugged.

"Are you planning on being a single mum forever?" I insisted.

"We're not talking about the wedding again, are we?"

"We have to set a date eventually. Unless you really want to stay single."

"It's not about what I want Jacob, it's about what we need. We're not ready."

"I'm ready. I've always been ready."

"Seriously? So you're ready to get married but you're not ready to take care of your kids while I'm working... is that it?"

"I should be the one working, not you."

"That is the stupidest thing I've heard you say. I think you're spending too much time with Edward Cullen."

"I'm not saying women can't have jobs. But I should be the one providing for our family. I wanted us to have the real deal... I had plans and now..."

"What plans?"

"I was accepted in a mechanics school in Seattle. I wanted to surprise you too."

"A school?"

"I want to be a mechanic and have my own business here in La Push so I thought I should take a mechanics course and there's this school in Seattle..."

"And you applied for this school without telling me?" She cut me off.

"I didn't even think they'd reply."

"How much time will it take?"

"Three years."

"Three years? So... you're leaving us for three years!?"

"No, I'm not leaving you Leah. I will come home every weekend and I'll still help you with the kids."

"Sure you will."

Leah went to our bedroom and closed the door on my face.

"Come on Leah... Think about it." I opened the door and walked after her.

"I don't have to think about anything. I'm sure you thought about all the details already. I guess it was a good thing I didn't get rid of those books."

"Do you have any idea how I feel like?"

"I'm sure you're distraught about leaving to Seattle and go to classes again." She said sarcastically. "For three years!"

It was so hard to explain things to Leah. She was taking this worse than I ever thought she would.

"In three years I'll have my course done, I'll buy a garage and start a business and I'll be able to give you and the boys a better life. Right now I feel like a third wheel... I'm useless and if I stay here waiting to find a job, everyone will think that I'm not fit to be a dad. Sue already thinks that and I don't want to dishonour my mother and your father's memory like that. I want to provide for my family. I know you are capable. You can do anything but me... I can only help you if I work because let's face it… I can't take care of the kids properly. I want you and the boys to be proud of me. You deserve better than an unemployed, useless and under-qualified idiot as the father of your children..."

"I don't think that." Leah said at last putting an end to my little rant. "I would never think that about you Jacob."

Without a degree or a professional diploma the only jobs I could hope for if I stayed in La Push were temporary and ill paid. I could never hope to afford a house of my own, a garage, a better car, or even save money for my kids' future. Even if Leah kept this new job, our salaries would never be enough for the four of us and in the future I would like Harry and Will to have a brother or a sister. Leah deserved better, she deserved someone who could give her financial stability and who could assume the leader role in the family.

"Maybe not now. But in a few years..." I sighed.

"I would never think you're useless." She insisted.

"I need you to trust me Leah. I need you to let me do this." Placing my hands around her waist I pulled her into me and kissed her neck. "Please."

"So you want me to let you go..." She was trying not to give into me but I was already undressing her and she didn't stop me.

"Yes, but I want you to marry me first." I felt her tensing up when I said those words.

"I'll marry you when I think it's the right time. We're engaged, isn't that enough?"

"No... Not while you have all of those books under the bed."

"I'll get rid of the books..."

"When?"

"It depends."

"On what?"

"On how long you're going to take to make me scream your name." She said mischievously and taking me by surprise, she pushed me to the bed and straddled me.

"Challenge accepted. Just don't scream too loud, okay? Let's not wake the kids up." I kissed her full on the lips and we worked together on removing all of our clothes.

Taking care of two newborn babies was not as easy as it might seem. Even with our combined efforts there was always something that had to be done: rocking them to sleep, feed them, bathe them, cook their meals, take care of their clothes, changing diapers, buying more diapers... it was exhausting. There was no spare time to go out, see a movie, spend time with our friends, or even have sex.

Actually I could not remember the last time we had sex, it was probably a month ago when my dad offered to stay with the twins for a few hours so Leah and I could patrol. Quil had to make an extra shift in his job, Embry had gone to the Makah reservation with his mother to visit family and Seth was studying so we were the only ones left to patrol.

Only that evening we didn't even set foot on the forest. As soon as dad picked up the boys, we ended up tangled in our bed, and the next day we had Sam complaining to the Council about our irresponsibility concerning La Push's safety.

'_You're just a stupid and irresponsible kid, Jacob. Haven't you learned anything? You're in this mess because you always let your feelings take over. There's a time for everything Jake… We were counting on you to secure the perimeter last night but you… you let yourself be ruled by your lust and my pack had to take over. You are not worthy of your alpha position.'_

'_Jealousy doesn't suit you Sam.'_

'_Jealousy? You think I'm jealous of you?'_

'_You'd kill to be in my place, to hold Leah every night and be the father of her children.'_

'_I'm not jealous Jacob. I just think you're playing with fire and that you'll never be able to give her what she really deserves.'_

'_And what would that be? You?'_

'_No, not me... But definitely not you either. You're just a kid. You have nothing to offer her. You don't have a house of your own, you don't have a job, you don't have enough maturity to be a father and you haven't imprinted yet. You two might think you're doing the right thing staying together and playing happy couples, but you're just fooling yourselves. There will be a day both of you will break apart. Even if you don't find your soul mate, there will be a time Leah will realise you can't give her the life she always wanted. She'll see she made a mistake trusting you.'_

'_I love Leah and she loves me! Just make sure you get that into that thick head of yours!'_

'_You and Leah aren't meant to be.'_

'_We'll make it work!'_

'_Keep telling yourself that.'_

The grin on Sam's face that day almost made me rip off his head, I was only able to control myself because Emily was waiting for her husband with baby Ella in the car. But since that morning, I realised I had to do something. I couldn't just sit around and wait for opportunities to fall from the sky, I had to make them happen.

If I wanted to have a house of my own, I'd have to work and save money. If I wanted to have a good job to save money, I'd have to take that mechanics course. If I wanted to be a better father, I'd have to provide for my children. If I wanted to make Leah happy, I'd have to be the man she needed me to be, I'd have to give her what she deserved and attend all of her needs.

In the sex department I had everything under control, but I had to work hard on the rest. I was not going to let Sam laugh on my face. I had to make this work. When Leah accepted to marry me I thought people would change their minds about us but I was wrong. Almost everyone in La Push still thought we were together only by convenience.

"I promise I'll make this work." I whispered in Leah's ear when she let her body fall on top of mine. "Three years will go by really quickly. I'll study hard and come home every weekend. I'll work on the weekends to help you with the money, and I'll be here whenever you need me."

"I'll miss you…" She ran her hand through my bare chest.

"Then marry me. Marry me now." I kissed her again.

"I'll miss you either we're married or not Jacob."

"I know but at least it will be official."

"What are you afraid of? I'm the one who should be scared of you leaving me. You can meet your soul mate in Seattle or another girl prettier than me."

"There's no one prettier than you. Besides I already have my soul mate, and it's you."

"Then prove it Black." She teased.

"Gladly."

One time was never enough for us. Besides Leah's body was addictive and we'd been craving one another for weeks, so it was only natural that we'd want to stay in bed the rest of the day. Luckily the twins were still sleeping.

We enjoyed our time together, going slow at first and losing all notion of reality after a while. I had never realised the true meaning of love before falling for Leah. In the past I was so sure that I was in love with Bella that I had never contemplated the idea of falling in love with another person when she broke my heart. I thought I'd never be able to forget about her but now I was happy that she had finally abandoned my thoughts and Leah was in her place.

Just like everyone else, Leah had flaws and sometimes she was the most difficult person on the planet, but I had fallen for her nonetheless. I could state all of her qualities and all of her flaws, I could tell what she loved and what she hated, I could guess her reactions to certain situations, and I could say, with no regrets and no doubts that she belonged to me.

And I knew her feelings matched mine despite her reluctance in marrying me, especially when she was moaning my name as we danced between the sheets.

"Jacob… I need you to move faster…" Leah said between gasps.

"Someone is in a hurry." I chuckled.

"Who knows how long it will take for us to have a moment like this again…"

She was right. We were parents. Our kids came first now but until they woke up, we could be together and enjoy this as much as we could.

"Three years…" Leah whispered, trying to control her voice even though she was failing. "You'll be gone for three years."

"I'll never be away from you for more than a week." I promised leaving small kisses down her neck.

"You won't be able to afford all those trips. Seattle is far away from here."

"I'm a wolf, Leah. I'll phase and come to you. We'll make it work, babe."

She smiled and pulled my body on top of hers. My wolf went wild when she wrapped her legs around my waist but I managed to push him aside. Deep down I knew what he wanted me to do, but I wasn't going to surrender to my animal half, I didn't want Leah to think I was with her because we were supposed to be the alpha pair. Besides that was only a theory that Carlisle had told me about a few months ago. However it was a nice theory. A theory that could actually solve my problems.

'_Leah is one of a kind. As far as your father and Old Quil told me there are no indications of another female wolf in your History. Despite what she thinks, this is not a DNA error. She must have phased for a reason.'_ Carlisle had told me that morning.

'_Do you know anything else?'_

'_I know that you are a pack. You are an evolution of a normal wild pack but you practically follow the same rules. You have a hierarchy, and you have the same social habits wild wolves have. So I guess it's safe to say that Leah phased because the alpha male needed a companion.'_

'_But Sam was alpha before me. Why didn't she become his companion?'_

'_Probably because he was not the rightful alpha and he imprinted.'_

'_So… she phased because I needed a mate?'_

'_Yes. I think so.'_

'_Why would I need a mate when I could simply imprint just like the others?'_

'_I think natural selection is the only explanation.'_

'_Natural selection?'_

'_After so many encounters with vampires, I think your genes have found a way of making the pack stronger. By creating an alpha female it will be assured that you'll have a stronger lineage in the future because the children you'll conceive will be pure wolves.'_

'_So she was selected to be my mate and give me children?'_

'_Probably.'_

For some reason that sounded worse than imprinting. We'd always thought our lives wouldn't be ruled by magic tricks but if what Carlisle had told me was true, we were wrong. My only consolation was that I knew for sure I had fallen in love with Leah the right way. It had nothing to do with old legends or natural selection. I just hoped she knew that too.

'_So Leah got pregnant because we are mates?'_

'_That's a tricky one Jacob.'_ The leech confessed. _'In wild packs the alpha pair mates for life and they conceive once every year. Usually the alpha male marks his female so other males realise she's not available and then they mate… This happens during the mating season which begins between January and April. Since you're a different kind of wolves, I believe your mating season will last longer. In any case, that's the only time of the year Leah should be able to conceive.' _

'_But the twins were conceived in November.'_

'_Exactly. Her body was probably beginning to adapt to the changes so she could mate… I guess you just… got ahead of yourselves. The thing is, next January it will happen again and if you don't want to have more children, you should start being careful.'_

'_How?'_

'_Normal contraceptive methods should work.'_

'_Are you sure?'_

'_I guess.'_

'_What if they don't work?'_

'_You'll have to find a way to fight the urge to mate. If you don't, Leah will give birth again after a few months.'_

'_It's not that easy. Though we were never in that situation before I can feel my inner wolf demanding me to take her and mark her as my property.'_

'_Then maybe you should do it. That way, she will surely be yours.'_

In that moment I was contemplating Carlisle's words carefully. Leah didn't want to marry me and it would take a while before she accepted to set the date for us to get married so why not claim her as mine? That way she would never belong to any other wolf and I could go to Seattle knowing she was mine forever.

Underneath me, Leah was all flushed and we kissed deeply until I had to pull back for air. Resting my face in the crook of her neck, I inhaled her scent until I was overloading and I realised I wouldn't be able to be a full week away from her.

"What's going to happen to us, Jacob?" Leah asked while I embraced her tightly.

"I don't know about you but I intend to finish what we started."

"I'm mean… later on…" She laughed.

"We'll live happily ever after Leah." I replied confidently. "Everyone will be jealous of us… I'll have my own business running, Embry and Quil will work with me, and we'll have a couple more kids, okay? I'll give you what you always dreamed of."

"You can start by keeping your word and finish what we started." She teased bucking her hips.

"Since you've asked so kindly."

It didn't take us much longer though. She moaned loudly and I followed her almost immediately. My chance for marking her as mine was gone but I was very satisfied and so was she.

"Maybe I should let you call Rosalie more often to help." Leah said when I rolled off to her side. "I mean usually they don't stay quiet for so long. Do you think she put something on their bottle?"

"Of course not. You know she'd never do that." Rosalie was a vampire but she loved kids more than she hated wolves. Besides, we had never seen her so happy. Even Bella had noticed Rosalie had changed after the twins were born.

"I better go check on them." Leah got up and put my t-shirt on. I love to see her in my clothes.

"And to think you were worried about not having maternal instincts." I commented. These days all that Leah did was take care of the kids. She couldn't be away from them for more than a couple of hours.

"It's still hard to believe I actually managed to get pregnant and have two babies when I thought I'd never have a family of my own." Leah picked up some of our clothes from the floor and placed them on the bed.

"You should be thankful that wolves only mate once a year, otherwise I think you'd hatching babies number three and four already."

She rolled her eyes at me leaving our bedroom.

"I think we're fine with two kids." She said from the door.

"For now… but you never know." I smirked. "Besides such a fine male specimen like me should have many heirs."

"Then I just hope that fine male specimen learns how to change a diaper properly because more kids will mean more diapers." Leah laughed.

I pondered that.

"In that case we should probably wait a couple of years before we have more." I decided and she laughed from the twins' bedroom.

"So… do you want to get rid of the books together?" Leah asked returning to bed and hugging me.

"Now?" I asked.

"The kids are still sleeping. And you did make me scream."

"Shouldn't we have round number three?" I kissed her hair while Leah intertwined our fingers.

"Are you sure you can handle it?"

"Maybe not with an empty stomach." I admitted.

"In that case, let's have a bonfire in our backyard."

An hour later, Leah and I sat side by side in the backyard watching the books she had saved under our bed burning quietly in a small fire while we ate hot marshmallows.

"Wedding or no wedding, this things we have between us, it will work." She said looking at me. "Because I love you and I will always need you by my side."

"You want to pick a date?" I asked hopefully.

She nodded negatively.

"I need some time but I promise it won't be much."

"Okay." I accepted. "I guess I can wait a bit more."

"Until you start your classes next year, we'll build good memories of us and the kids. If you imprint we'll have our memories, pictures and videos of us together…" Leah's eyes focused on the flames now. "The kids will need happy memories."

"I promise I won't imprint."

She gave a small smile and kissed me.

"I won't stop loving you even if you do." She muttered.

"Let's have a bet." I suggested. "You choose a punishment for me if I imprint and I choose a reward for me if I don't."

"Are you sure?"

I nodded.

"Okay. If you imprint you'll have to… live in the other side of the reservation with your soul mate and you can't kiss her in front of me or the kids."

"I thought you'd ask me to do a vasectomy." I told her.

"It did cross my mind. But I'm not that selfish person I was before." She explained proudly. "What about your reward?"

"If I don't imprint… you'll have to go with me, once a year, to a place I'll select. No questions asked, no complaints and it will be just the two of us."

"Once a year until you imprint." She pointed out.

"Once a year forever, in case I don't." I grinned.

"Fine." She finally said. "Where are we going this year?"

"The Grand Canyon. We're going to watch the sunrise and the sunset from the Grand Canyon."

Once upon a time, even before Leah started dating Sam, she had a list of places she'd like to visit. I knew all about it thanks to the pack mind link, and I also knew Sam had promised to take her there until he dumped her and married Emily.

So I was going to make sure Leah could still go to all of those places. We would create new and happy memories. Just the of us.

"Unless you don't want to go with me." I realized suddenly that she was still silent. Maybe she didn't want to go because that reminded her of Sam and his broken promises.

"I'd love to go." She stated making my heart flutter with relief and happiness. "But…"

My smile dropped.

"Right now I think I want round number three." She put the fire out and ran upstairs. I followed immediately.

**To be continued…**

* * *

Special thanks: teamtorettosupporter, Blackwater Crazziii, Cracker679, TheSkeptic88, Jeakat, Tara Maria, Queen Leti, Firefly-class, MelkiSihou, brankel1, Kwop, MoliWood, rocklesson86, crystal, Weave the Magic, WEML101, Scimitar X, Guest, nene82743, Kary G, hgmsnoopy, RitzaHerondale.

I'd also like to thank everyone who added this story to their favourite's list.

A/Note: I know this doesn't add much to the plot, but I wanted to show how things were for Leah and Jake when the twins were only a few months old.


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